Ashland Historic District

Ashland, about twelve miles north of Richmond, began as a small mid-19th-century summer resort, and its historic district preserves that heritage across roughly 159 acres and 250 structures. Center Street, with railroad tracks running down its middle, is the focal point, lined with large frame Italianate, Eastlake, Queen Anne, Second Empire and Colonial Revival houses on spacious, tree-shaded lots. Other clusters include Eastlake houses near Racecourse and St. James Streets, Georgian Revival homes on Caroline and College Avenues tied to Randolph-Macon College's growth in the 1920s, and churches in Gothic, Tudor and Colonial Revival designs. The downtown holds early 20th-century commercial buildings, many given false fronts later, and a Beaux Arts bank dated 1919. Modern parking lots, apartments and altered storefronts have affected parts of the town. Even so, the district shows continuous development and stands out for its abundance and quality of late 19th-century frame buildings.