Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/05/2001
NRHP Listing Date 04/12/2002
NRHP Reference Number 02000368
Port Republic Road Historic District is Waynesboro’s principal historic African American neighborhood. The community formed after the Civil War within the framework of an early 19th-century subdivision established near the industrial complex of mill owner Frederick Imboden. The neighborhood’s proximity to Waynesboro’s industrial section and railroad depots was attractive to black laborers after the war, and by the early 1870s houses and churches were being built. The earliest dwellings were constructed of log, but the later houses are of frame construction and display simple Victorian and Craftsman details. Significant buildings in the district include Shiloh Baptist Church, built in 1924, the Elks and Abraham lodges, a Rosenwald school, and Tarry’s Hotel, built in 1940 near the railroad tracks.
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: August 8, 2022
