Centered on the main intersection of this Tidewater village, the Driver Historic District is an interesting collection of small country stores and several examples of domestic types that reflect the continuing influence of earlier Tidewater dwellings. The earliest structure is the Parker House, built between 1820 and 1840, a side-passage, two-story frame dwelling. The majority of Driver’s buildings were constructed in the late 1880s, after the completion of the Norfolk and Carolina Railroad. The railroad expanded the market for local farm products and created new jobs in the area. At this time, the settlement was named after E. J. Driver, who operated a general store here. Punctuating the district are two Gothic-style churches built between 1890 and 1910. This Driver Historic District also has two school buildings, both built in 1926. The tiny village in the modern city of Suffolk (formerly Nansemond County) maintains a simple, unassertive character typical of an eastern Virginia crossroads community.
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