Kinsale Historic District
Also known as: Vdhr #096-0090
Why it's listed
Kinsale is a small waterfront village in northeastern Westmoreland County, Virginia, where four creeks and rivers meet. The historic district covers about 113 acres and includes 66 contributing resources, mainly houses, outbuildings, a few commercial buildings and a cemetery. Established by the Virginia Assembly in 1784, the village prospered as a deepwater port, handling both schooner trade and steamboat service to Baltimore. Fires and wartime losses in 1812 and the Civil War removed most early buildings, so the surviving fabric is mostly from 1870 to the early 20th century. Only two antebellum houses remain, the Great House and the Little House, along with the Bailey Cemetery, where a midshipman killed in 1813 is buried. Typical buildings include I-houses, Queen Anne dwellings with projecting bays, American Foursquare houses and a former general store. Commercial activity ended with the closing of the last cannery in the early 1950s, and the grid street plan still reflects the village's early layout.
Significance in brief: The district is significant as a deepwater port that thrived on schooner and steamboat trade, with its greatest commercial activity running until the early 1950s. It has a fairly intact collection of late 19th and early 20th century buildings in vernacular and popular styles. It also records military events of the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
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 05000476, listed July 22, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly along Kinsale Rd, Kinsale Bridge Rd., Sigouney Dr., Great House Rd., and Yeocomico Ln., Kinsale |
|---|---|
| County | Westmoreland County |
| Listed | July 22, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05000476 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1784-1954 |
| Architectural style | Federal, Late Victorian, Queen Anne, Bungalow/Craftsman, I-house |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Commerce, Military |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Since the last canneries closed in the early 1950s, Kinsale has been primarily a residential community that still has its own post office. |
| Acreage | 113 |
| Within district | Occupacia-Rappahannock Rural Historic District |
| Coordinates | 38.03180, -76.57855 (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 05000476.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15238562
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.