Lawrenceville Historic District
History
Lawrenceville Historic District (DHR ID 251-5001), located in Brunswick County, Virginia, was originally listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1999. The original nomination form identified nine areas of significance for the district including Architecture, Archaeology (modern industrial), Commerce, Education, Entertainment/Recreation, Ethnic Heritage (Black), Law/ Politics/ Government[1], Religion, and Transportation, with a period of significance spanning from 1784 to 1949. The purpose of this update to the Lawrenceville Historic District nomination was to provide current information about the district’s physical condition, to provide further documentation of the significance of the district, and to extend end date of the district’s period of significance to 1973.
History Cont.
In December 2020 and January 2021, a reconnaissance-level survey of 424 properties in the Lawrenceville Historic District was conducted, during which surveyors verified the conditions of all previously-documented resources within the district, as well as documented resources not previously surveyed and all significant secondary resources. The original nomination included an inventory listing 326 contributing buildings, and 91 noncontributing buildings, 1 contributing site and 1 noncontributing site, 3 contributing structures and 2 noncontributing structures and 1 contributing object, accompanied by short architectural descriptions of each resource. The 2020/2021 survey and expansion of the period of significance resulted in the identification of 431 contributing resources, including 423 buildings, 6 structures, 1 object, and 1 site. The updated survey also identified 201 noncontributing resources, including 171 buildings, 28 structures, 1 object, and 1 site, including secondary resources such as garages, sheds, and barns. Not included in the count of noncontributing resources are 36 resources that were previously surveyed, but are no longer extant, and 1 resource listed as “other” in the original survey that was not visible from the public right-of-way during the recent resurvey.
Lawrenceville Historic District Location Map
History Cont.
The district’s original period of significance spanned the period from 1784 to 1949. This update extends the period of significance to end in 1973, capturing Lawrenceville’s mid-twentieth century growth and development. The update to the Lawrenceville Historic District also expands upon and provides additional justification for the areas of significance identified in the original nomination. The Statement of Significance for the original nomination discussed several areas of significance especially as related to the town’s late-eighteenth and early nineteenth-century history. This Additional Documentation includes additional aspects of the district’s significance that apply to those areas with a focus on the mid-twentieth century, as well as new areas of significance not discussed in the original nomination. A new area of significance, Social History, is being added to the historic district listing for the important contributions of James Solomon Russell (also significant in the area of education) and Nellie Pratt Russell, both of whom are significant under Criterion B.