Town of Halifax Court House Historic District

Halifax's historic district follows Main Street through the center of the Halifax County seat in Southside Virginia. At its heart stands the Greek Revival courthouse, built in 1839 by the brick masons Dabney Cosby and his son, with a monumental Ionic portico. Around the courthouse square are small brick lawyers' offices, while one- and two-story brick storefronts line South Main Street, many rebuilt after a late 19th-century fire. Churches, a high school complex, a swimming pool from the 1930s, and mills and a planing mill near the railway tracks reflect the town's growth after the Lynchburg and Durham Railway arrived in the 1880s. Houses range from log and frame dwellings of the early 1800s to Queen Anne, Craftsman and Colonial Revival homes. North Main Street became a center of the African-American community, with two churches and a store. The district covers 1812 to 1958 and includes 187 contributing resources, recognized for architecture, commerce, government, industry, education and ethnic heritage.