Bowling Green Historic District

Bowling Green is a compact county-seat town in Caroline County, Virginia, about forty miles north of Richmond, where U.S. Route 301 meets State Route 207. Its historic district holds 224 primary resources and 148 secondary ones, including a colonial plantation house known as Old Mansion and the brick Caroline County Courthouse, which reflects Thomas Jefferson's pavilion designs and may have been built by craftsmen who worked for him. Most churches are Gothic Revival, while the houses range from Greek Revival to Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and bungalows. Fires in 1900 and 1955 destroyed much of the commercial downtown, so few business buildings predate the mid-twentieth century. The district was recognized for its role as a seat of government and regional crossroads and for the architecture preserved by slow, stable growth. Its period of significance runs from about 1750 to 1952.