Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 03/18/1975
NRHP Listing Date 04/22/1976
NRHP Reference Number 76002119
In the shadow of the Allegheny Mountains in Shenandoah County, Orkney Springs Hotel presents what is perhaps the state’s most complete picture of the many spa complexes that sprang up around Virginia’s mineral springs in the 19th century. Orkney Springs was known as early as 1800, and a small community was established here in the 1830s. Resort development began in the 1850s. Surviving from Orkney Springs’s period of greatest popularity is the 1876 Virginia House, a wooden hotel surrounded by tiers of galleries. The oldest building is the 1853 Maryland House, also highlighted by galleries. Other hotel structures and a range of cottages complete the picture of a 19th-century resort. Although most of its sister spas have succumbed to fire, abandonment, or demolition, Orkney Springs has managed to survive through use as a summer music camp and a retreat for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia known as Shrine Mont.
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: June 25, 2021
