Nomination Form
Located in Halifax County, this house was built by Dr. Richard Thornton not long after he purchased the property in 1818. The Federal-style house has a unique floor plan that allowed it to function as both Thornton’s residence and medical office and as a place of lodging for travelers. At the time of his death in 1860, Thornton, among the most senior and wealthiest doctors in the county, had mentored many younger doctors in the area. The Dr. Richard Thornton House property includes associated historic outbuildings and a cemetery.
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
