Shawsville Historic District
Also known as: DHR file # 60-456
Why it's listed
Shawsville's historic core is a seven-acre strip of 13 buildings lining Main Street beside the railroad in Montgomery County, Virginia. Commercial blocks of frame and brick stand at the center, with houses at the outer edges and a single brick church, White Memorial Church, built in the 1930s. Nothing was built after 1950. The town grew from a turnpike tollhouse site and became a railroad stop, later serving as the railhead for the upper South Fork of the Roanoke River and parts of Floyd County, where farmers sold cross ties and tan bark. The standout building is the 1910 Bank of Shawsville, a brick Classical Revival structure with Ionic columns, designed by Roanoke architect Homer W. Miller. Other notable buildings include the W. W. Lykens Furniture Store, Gardner's General Store and the Showalter House. The district was listed for its intact depiction of a small railroad town, with its buildings preserved largely because traffic moved to a bypass.
Significance in brief: The district is significant under criterion C as a well-preserved example of a late 19th and early 20th century railroad town. Its commercial and domestic buildings relate to those in Christiansburg and the region. The 1910 Bank of Shawsville shows more architectural sophistication than any other building in the county's small towns. Alterations have been very limited.
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 90002009, listed January 10, 1991. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Main St. E and W of jct. with VA 637, Shawsville |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | January 10, 1991 |
| Reference number | 90002009 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | late 19th century to 1930s |
| Architect / builder | Miller, Homer W. (architect) |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th c. Revivals: Classical Revival; also Victorian vernacular and commercial vernacular buildings |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The Bank of Shawsville and an adjacent brick commercial building are vacant, and one commercial building is listed as abandoned. The district has seen limited physical change, though strip development along US 460/11 could affect it in future. |
| Acreage | 7 |
| Coordinates | 37.16889, -80.25453 (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 90002009.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14713199
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.