Blacksburg Historic District
Also known as: DHR File No. 150-108
Why it's listed
Blacksburg's historic core covers about 72 acres around Roanoke Street, centered on a sixteen-block grid first planned in 1798. It combines a commercial strip along Main Street and College Avenue with surrounding residential neighborhoods and borders the Virginia Polytechnic Institute campus. Buildings range from early log houses and an 1847 Greek Revival church to late nineteenth-century stores such as Deyerle's Store, Gothic Revival churches including Christ Episcopal, and many Bungalow, Foursquare and Colonial Revival houses of the early twentieth century. The district was recognized for its architecture, which shows the town's growth and rebuilding between 1798 and 1940, and for its role as the commercial center of Montgomery County, even ahead of the county seat. Archaeological testing at the Johnson House and the Lybrook's Row site, a former student housing and pottery area, also produced artifacts and evidence of historic-period remains.
Significance in brief: The district illustrates the architectural development of Blacksburg from its 1798 platting through 19th-century growth and its substantial rebuilding in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is the largest and best preserved downtown commercial area in Montgomery County and was the county's commercial center. Archaeological testing at the Johnson House and Lybrook's Row also showed it holds information from the historic period.
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 90002165, listed January 31, 1991. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, area N of jct. of Main and Jackson Sts. including sections out along Lee and Progress Sts., Blacksburg |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | January 31, 1991 |
| Reference number | 90002165 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1798-1940 |
| Architect / builder | Wes Gray (builder); architects Emlyn Littel, Ralph Adams Cram, Eubank and Caldwell, Carneal and Johnston |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival; Colonial Revival; Late Victorian Gothic |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Historic - Non-Aboriginal, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still a mix of homes, shops, restaurants, churches and civic uses; the 1847 Presbyterian Church has been adapted several times and partly restored, and the Johnson House was acquired by the town for a park and is slated for restoration. |
| Acreage | 72 |
| Coordinates | 37.23069, -80.41169 (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 90002165.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14712033
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.