Nomination Form
The Montross Historic District extends in a linear fashion along Route 3/Kings Highway in the town of Montross, just east of the Westmoreland County boundary with neighboring Richmond County. Established as the Westmoreland County seat of government in the 1680s, the heart of the district consists of the early-20th-century courthouse and court green, which stand on the site of the former colonial-era courthouse, erected in ca. 1685. The courthouse was first built in 1900 and remodeled in 1936, while the former jail was constructed in 1911. The Inn at Montross/Spence’s Tavern, which dates to the 19th century, is the oldest building in the district. Important landscape elements include the former courthouse square, which is the site of several military memorial markers, and the “Virginia Presidents’ Garden” designed in ca. 1940 by noted landscape architect Charles Freeman Gillette of Richmond. The Montross Historic District represents the development of this town from a small, but vibrant, court house village to an important commercial and transportation hub on Virginia’s Northern Neck.
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
Nomination Form
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
