Brookneal Historic District

Brookneal's historic district covers about 55 acres in the center of a small Campbell County town on the Staunton River. Its streets follow the ridge routes that once led to ferry and later bridge crossings, and its lots descend from an 1802 town survey. About half of the resources are homes, and the rest are commercial or governmental. Early dwellings, some of log or frame construction with fine stone chimneys, sit at the northern and southern edges. Later I-houses and Folk Victorian homes line Cook Avenue and Wickliffe Avenue. The downtown grew northward to the Lynchburg & Durham rail line, where one-to-three-story brick and block commercial buildings front the street directly, many in Commercial Style with some Colonial Revival and Art Deco examples. The district was listed for its architecture and its role in local commerce between 1812 and 1960. It counts 107 contributing and 14 noncontributing resources, reflecting the rise and later decline of the region's tobacco, furniture and textile economy.