Fayette Street Historic District
Also known as: Vdhr# 120-5003
Why it's listed
Fayette Street and its side streets in Martinsville, Virginia, form a 42-acre district of stores, offices, funeral homes, churches, a school and houses just west of the Henry County Courthouse. The area began as farmland and tobacco-factory sites after the railroads arrived in 1891, and nearby churches and housing drew Black tobacco workers to live there. In the early 1920s Dr. Dana O. Baldwin and his brothers started businesses on the 100 block, which encouraged commercial growth on the 200 and 300 blocks. Through the 1930s to 1950s, Black-owned funeral homes, offices, a savings and loan, churches and the Albert Harris school served a community shut out by segregation. Houses range from I-houses and shotgun forms to Foursquares, Craftsman bungalows and Colonial and Tudor Revival homes. With the 100 block largely gone, the district is what remains of the center of Martinsville's African-American community, listed for its ethnic history, commerce, education and religion, with a period of significance of 1900 to 1957.
Significance in brief: The district developed as the commercial, institutional and social center of Martinsville's African-American community during the Jim Crow era. Black-owned businesses, funeral homes, churches, schools and houses grew up here, especially from the 1920s through the 1950s. It is what survives of a once-larger center, since the 100 block (the Baldwin Block) has largely been lost.
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 07000395, listed May 2, 2007. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Fayette St. and side sts roughly bounded by Market, W. Church, Memorial and Swanson Sts., Martinsville (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Martinsville |
| Listed | May 2, 2007 |
| Reference number | 07000395 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1900-1957 |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Queen Anne; Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival; Commercial, American Foursquare, Bungalow, Craftsman; Folk Victorian; Vernacular |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Black, Commerce, Education, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Contains 116 contributing and 62 non-contributing resources; many commercial buildings and some dwellings in the first two blocks have been altered, while most residences in the western blocks are largely unaltered. The adjacent 100 block is almost entirely vacant. |
| Acreage | 42 |
| Coordinates | 36.69308, -79.88168 (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 07000395.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16891243
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.