Prices Fork Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: Vdhr 060-0224
Why it's listed
Prices Fork is a small crossroads village west of Blacksburg, where the old Peppers Ferry Road forks toward Browns Ferry. Its historic core is a tight cluster of frame and brick buildings under large maple, oak and catalpa trees. The oldest and most notable is the brick James Bain Price House of 1871, a Greek Revival farmhouse with a two-story central porch, surrounded by log outbuildings and a barn. Nearby stands Price's well-preserved weatherboarded store of the same year. Other buildings include a ca. 1920 Foursquare house, late nineteenth-century frame dwellings, a ca. 1900 store, and two churches: St. Marks Lutheran, moved here in 1877, and Prices Fork Methodist. The district was recognized for architecture because these buildings show how a country-store village developed along a turnpike from the 1870s into the early twentieth century, and because the buildings and plantings together keep a consistent, intact appearance. Two modern buildings do not contribute.
Significance in brief: The district is considered significant for architecture, as a group of well preserved buildings showing how a village grew at a fork in a turnpike from the late nineteenth into the early twentieth century. Its dense, coherent streetscape and large maple and oak trees tie the sites together. The James Bain Price House and Store of 1871 anchor the district.
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). NRHP reference 14000528, listed August 25, 2014. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Prices Fork Rd., Blacksburg |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | August 25, 2014 |
| Reference number | 14000528 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1871-1940 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Mid-19th c.: Greek Revival; center passage plan; Foursquare |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most buildings are well preserved; the Methodist Church is still used by its congregation, the Lutheran church has been converted to apartments, and the ca. 1900 store at 60-224-8 is vacant but not beyond restoration. |
| Acreage | 5.6 |
| Coordinates | 37.20634, -80.49296 (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 14000528.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives)
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.