{"nrhp_refnum":"07000394","name":"Richlands Historic District","other_names":["Vdhr# 148-5014"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Includes portions of Front, Second, Third, Fourth Sts., and Grayson Ave., Lee St., Washington Sq. and Suffolk Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richlands","county":"Tazewell County","state":"VA","lat":37.095027004500054,"lon":-81.7891456456644,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-05-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about nineteen blocks in the center of Richlands, western Tazewell County, Virginia, laid out in 1888 by the Clinch Valley Coal and Iron Company ahead of the Norfolk and Western Railroad's 1889 arrival. It holds 91 contributing and 15 noncontributing buildings.","why_significant":"The district is locally significant for Architecture (Criterion C) and for Community Planning and Commerce (Criterion A). Its buildings show the popular styles of c. 1889 to 1956 and reflect the founders' vision of a 'Pittsburgh of the South'. Rail access and local brick production helped the boom town build in up-to-date styles.","narrative":"Richlands, in western Tazewell County, Virginia, was planned in 1888 by the Clinch Valley Coal and Iron Company in anticipation of the Norfolk and Western Railroad's arrival the next year. Its historic district covers roughly nineteen blocks of the town center and includes 91 contributing and 15 noncontributing buildings. About 55 percent of the district is residential and 45 percent commercial, and it includes three churches. Two-story brick commercial buildings line Front and Second streets and Suffolk Avenue, with a few early examples featuring cast iron or rock-faced stone. North of the commercial core are modest houses ranging from Late Victorian to Bungalow, Foursquare, Colonial Revival and Cape Cod types. A railroad section house from about 1889 also survives. The district is significant for its architecture and for the town's planning and commerce between about 1889 and 1956. A nearby brick factory and the rail line helped a remote boom town build in fashionable styles.","period_of_significance":"c. 1889-1956","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Late Victorian; Colonial Revival and Gothic Revival; Bungalow/Craftsman; Commercial Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Mixed residential and commercial use, with three churches; the railroad depot has been demolished and the form lists some vacant resources.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.393057-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/68/6839/41683968/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000394.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000394/a481b6838e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000394/a481b6838e-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W.B.F._White_and_Sons_Building,_Richlands.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W.B.F._White_and_Sons_Building,_Richlands.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683968","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richlands_Historic_District_(Richlands,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7330709"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/tazewell-county/richlands-historic-district-07000394/"}