{"nrhp_refnum":"95000394","name":"Driver Historic District","other_names":["VDHR File No. 133-693"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. of VA 125 and VA 629","address_restricted":false,"city":"Suffolk (Independent City)","county":"Suffolk","state":"VA","lat":36.824705393000045,"lon":-76.50179769656873,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-04-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rural village historic district of about 15 acres at the crossroads of Driver Lane and King's Highway in Suffolk, Virginia, with 24 buildings, 20 of them contributing. Most were built between about 1880 and 1938, with one house dating to about 1820-1840.","why_significant":"The district is significant for architecture. It is a well-preserved small rural community that grew up around a railroad depot, with two ornate churches, a group of early country stores and houses that carry on earlier Tidewater plan types. The crossroads has served as a trading center since the eighteenth century.","narrative":"Driver is a small rural village in northern Suffolk, Virginia, centered on the crossroads of Driver Lane and King's Highway. The district holds 24 buildings, 20 of them contributing: houses, two churches, two school buildings, a train depot, a Masonic lodge and several country stores. The crossroads was a trading point and stagecoach stop by the eighteenth century, but the present village developed after the Norfolk and Carolina Railroad arrived around 1887. It was later renamed for E. J. Driver, who ran a successful country store. Farmers shipped vegetables and peanuts, and around 1926 a consolidated high school complex was built, adding jobs and housing demand. The oldest surviving building is the Parker House, probably built between 1820 and 1840. The Berea and Beech Grove churches are unusually ornate for rural churches of their time. Some buildings are vacant and need rehabilitation, and nearby suburban growth puts pressure on the district.","period_of_significance":"1820-1944","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Federal, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Several commercial buildings and houses are vacant and need extensive rehabilitation, and several others have had inappropriate remodeling.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.992954-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/6838/41683851/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/95000394.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000394/16f287beb5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000394/16f287beb5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Driver_Beech_Grove_UMC.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Driver_Beech_Grove_UMC.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683851","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16833964"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/suffolk/driver-historic-district-95000394/"}