The Lancaster County seat was established at this location in 1740. The Lancaster Court House Historic District’s principal element is the 1861 brick courthouse, built by Edward O. Robinson. Its Tuscan portico was added in 1937. The courthouse complex includes the former jail and old clerk’s office, both dating from the 18th century. A ca. 1800 tavern, mid-19th-century post office, a Carpenter Gothic church, late-19th century store, and several detached 19th- and early-20th-century dwellings complete the linear village. Nearly free of modern intrusions, the Lancaster Court House Historic District maintains a harmony of scale, color, texture, and materials, all within a larger agrarian setting.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia