Laid out in 1727 in Stafford County at the falls of the Rappahannock, across the river from the city of Fredericksburg, Falmouth was a prosperous port and regional trading center until 1850, when dwindling river traffic and the construction of the railroad sapped its commercial life. Although modern intrusions have replaced much of the Falmouth Historic District’s early fabric, enough buildings remain from its period of ascendancy to invoke Falmouth’s early history. Along the waterfront are Basil Gordon’s brick warehouse and an adjacent large commercial building of the early 19th century. Nearby, on Cambridge Street, is the tiny Federal-period customs house, one of the nation’s smallest. Scattered through the Falmouth Historic District is a variety of early residences including some rare examples of vernacular worker housing. The façade of the Federal-period Union Church has been preserved as a landmark. Also in the Falmouth Historic District, on the heights overlooking the town, are the 18th-century houses Carlton, Clearview, and Belmont.
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