Suffolk Historic District (Boundary Increase)

This 23.5-acre addition to Suffolk's historic district follows North Main Street north from the old railroad station to Constance Road and the former Nansemond County Courthouse, with a short stretch of Mahan Street. It holds about 40 buildings, most of them small to mid-sized houses. Fires in 1779 and 1837 destroyed earlier construction, so only one house, the Old Post Office of about 1785, predates the 1830s. Federal-style frame houses from that decade stand beside two brick Greek Revival landmarks, the courthouse and Riddick's Folly, both built around 1839. During the Civil War the Riddick House served as Union headquarters through the 1863 Siege of Suffolk. Later Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival houses reflect rebuilding from the 1880s onward. Many former homes now serve as offices or a restaurant, and Riddick's Folly operates as a museum. War memorials line Mahan Street toward Cedar Hill Cemetery. The riverfront site of Constant's Wharf was left out because it has been cleared and redeveloped.