Four historically significant sites in our area—including a modernist home, a Black cemetery, and a rural schoolhouse—were added in June to the Virginia Landmarks Register, recognizing their cultural and architectural importance.
Thomas and Alena Hammond House (Charlottesville)
Designed in 1962 by Herbert Fritz, Jr., a Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice, this striking one-story home in the Greenbrier neighborhood features hallmark Wrightian elements like an open floor plan, central hearth, and natural materials that integrate the house with its surroundings.
Shipman Historic District (Nelson County)
Once known as Nelson Station, this late-19th-century railroad hub grew into a vibrant community with schools, churches, a post office, and commercial buildings, serving as a key transportation and shipping point in south-central Nelson County.
Cuckoo Elementary School (Louisa County)
Built around 1925, this rare two-room schoolhouse served rural Black students during segregation until it closed in 1955 after a fire. It stands as a surviving example of the small, community-centered schools once common across Virginia.
Fairview Cemetery (Staunton)
Founded in 1868–69 by two African American churches, this is one of the largest historically Black cemeteries in Virginia outside Richmond, with more than 2,200 marked graves and an estimated 1,000 unmarked—representing generations from emancipation through the civil rights era.
