Virginia State Seal Virginia Department of Historic Resources

About DHR

Organizational Chart for DHR

Contacting DHR:

The headquarters of the Department of Historic Resources is located at:
2801 Kensington Avenue
Richmond, VA 23221

Phone:  (804) 482-6446 (receptionist)
Fax:      (804) 367-2391

We also have three regional preservation offices:

  • Eastern Region Preservation Office (Richmond)
  • Western Region Preservation Office (Salem)
  • Northern Region Preservation Office (Stephens City)

For more information about, and the location of the regional office serving your locality, visit our Regional Preservation Offices web page.

For a listing of DHR staff phone numbers, visit our Staff Directory.

Or for a list DHR divisions and their respective staff, visit our Divisions Directory.

Online Contact Form

    DHR’s Administrative Services Division is based in our Richmond headquarters. If you need assistance for fiscal-related matters at DHR, please contact either

    • Eunice Carter, Director, Administrative Services Division (804) 482-6083; or
    • Will Harris, Finance & Grants Manager (804) 482-6458

    DHR’s Mission:

    The Virginia Department of Historic Resources is the State Historic Preservation Office in Virginia. DHR fosters, encourages, and supports the stewardship and use of Virginia’s significant architectural, archaeological, and historic resources as valuable assets for the economic, educational, social, and cultural benefit of citizens and communities.

    DHR Publications

    Follow this link to a listing of publications from DHR and the National Park Service, many available online.

    DHR Guidance and Planning Documents:

    Our mission is guided by the following documents:

    • One Virginia: DHR’s Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence: Governor Northam’s Executive Order One requires that agencies take affirmative measures to enable and encourage the recruitment of a diverse staff. Additionally, as part of the Special 2021 Session of the Virginia General Assembly, Chapter 168 of the Virginia Acts of Assembly mandates that agencies create a complete diversity, equity, and inclusion plan in coordination with the Governor’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Developed in accordance with these guiding documents from the Governor and the GA, here is DHR’s “Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence.”

    As Virginia’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), DHR is mandated to periodically develop and publish a Statewide Comprehensive Preservation Plan (under by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended). On November 10, 2021 DHR published Virginia’s Comprehensive Preservation Plan, 2022–2027. The plan is far-reaching and intended both to inspire and to represent the work of the diverse stakeholders who benefit and who shape the future of Virginia’s historic landscape. The goals, objectives, and suggested strategies outlined in the plan target DHR’s next six-year planning cycle, 2021 through 2027.

     


    DHR Reports:

    • Report on the Stewardship and Status of Virginia’s State-Owned Historic Properties, 2021—2023: In 2006, the General Assembly passed legislation mandating that the Department of Historic Resources draft two biennial reports, with the option that they might be combined, on the stewardship of state-owned historic properties. Consistent with prior reports, the 2021 report combines–
      • priority lists of sites eligible for listing on the Virginia Landmarks Register as well as those VLR sites listed or eligible that are most threatened with loss of historic integrity or functionality, and
      • a status report on historic properties previously identified in prior reports.

      See the report’s supplemental guidance and reference materials at the State Stewardship section of the DHR website. This year’s illustrated report highlights the efforts of Central State Hospital to preserve its archival records and memorialize its Unmarked Cemetery.

       

    Updated February 3, 2023