Martinsville Historic District & Walking Tour

Seeking history, culture, and an experience truly Southern Virginia? The Martinsville Historic District awaits your discovery. This is a 45-acre district encompassing 96 historically contributing buildings with architecture reflective of a number of architectural styles: Federal, Romanesque, Colonial Revival, and Classic Revival dating to between 1791 and 1948 and include Commercial Style, International Style, Art Deco, and Others. The district was listed in both the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Nomination for the district highlighted three distinct significant dates for meeting the criteria for listing: 1791, 1824, and 1873.

Walk through the history of Martinsville as you take to the streets in this self-guided tour through the city’s Uptown Historic District starting at the U.S. Post Office on West Church Street. Established in 1791 and later renamed after Revolutionary War hero Joseph Martin, Martinsville thrived on tobacco, furniture, and textile industries. This tour features significant buildings in Classical-Revival, Romanesque-Revival, and Baroque styles, such as the 1939 US Post Office, the 1927 Thomas Jefferson Hotel, and the 1824 Historic Henry County Courthouse. The tour captures the architectural and cultural evolution of Martinsville from its founding to its efforts to revitalize in the 21st century.