Jackson Ward Historic District

Jackson Ward is a compact neighborhood of about six hundred townhouses spread over forty-two blocks in central Richmond, Virginia. Ninety percent of the houses date from the nineteenth century, and about one hundred predate the Civil War. The streets hold Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne and Eastlake dwellings, most built as middle-class housing in brick on narrow lots. Consistent scale, brick sidewalks laid in herringbone pattern and granite curbs unify the area. Clay Street, shaded by elms, contains one of the finest collections of ornamental cast iron in the country. Notable buildings include the 1863 Steamer Company No. 5 firehouse, the oldest remaining firehouse in Richmond, and the 1832 Dill House. Later documentation added the neighborhood's role in the civil rights era, naming law offices, medical offices, insurance companies, churches and homes linked to that movement. A high rate of resident ownership has helped keep the district stable.