Holliday Lake State Park
Also known as: Holiday Lake State Park; VDHR No. 006-0051; Holiday Lake Recreational Area
Why it's listed
Holliday Lake State Park occupies about 255 acres in the Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest in Appomattox County, Virginia. Its center is a 150-acre manmade lake, reached by a long entry drive that follows the land's contours. The park began as one of four recreational development areas created by the Virginia Division of Forestry, working with the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. It was not built to strict National Park Service standards, yet it shares their approach: separate activity areas, a water feature as the organizing element, and buildings of natural materials. Surviving historic resources include a Rustic log picnic shelter from the 1930s, a brick well house of about 1939, the dam, spillway and bridge, slate drainage culverts, a rubble retaining wall and the circulation system. Campground, offices, restrooms, boathouses and residences added from the 1970s onward are counted as noncontributing. The park became Holliday Lake State Park in 1972 and remains a recreation area.
Significance in brief: The park is argued to be significant as one of four Virginia recreational development areas built by the Forest Service with CCC and WPA labor during the Great Depression. Although not held to National Park Service design standards, it shares features such as a long entry drive, a lake as organizing element, and structures of natural materials. Surviving 1930s resources include a log picnic shelter, well house, dam, culverts and retaining wall.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 12000903, listed October 31, 2012. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 2759 State Park Rd., Appomattox |
|---|---|
| County | Appomattox County |
| Listed | October 31, 2012 |
| Reference number | 12000903 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Virginia Division of Forestry, with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) |
| Architectural style | Other/Rustic; Other/Post-Modern |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation, Landscape Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Operating state park with campground, picnic areas, beach, boating and trails; many later buildings from the 1970s to 2007 are noncontributing. |
| Acreage | 255.3 |
| Coordinates | 37.39577, -78.63887 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 12000903.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5881346
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.