Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/14/1982
NRHP Listing Date 02/10/1983
NRHP Reference Number 83003300
This upper Piedmont crossroads town has remained little changed since the 1920s. Laid out in 1820 by Francis Thornton, Jr. on a narrow level area between the Thornton River and the hills of the northern Blue Ridge Mountains, the village grew slowly until 1867 when the Smoot family of Alexandria established a tannery here. The resulting influx of workers led to the construction of many of the unadorned wooden residences still standing in Sperryville. Intermingled are postbellum houses influenced by the 19th-century Romantic Revival and a scattering of late-19th-century workers’ houses. In the center of the community is an early brick and frame tavern. Most of the district’s buildings line U.S. Route 522 and local Route 1001. An absence of significant modern intrusions has preserved the early village image of this quiet community.
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
Updated: February 17, 2022
