The Covesville Historic District is a southern Albemarle County village that developed in response to religious settlement, transportation routes, and a successful apple-growing climate. Officially a village in 1828, Covesville was initially settled in the 1740s by Scotch-Irish and German immigrants from the Shenandoah Valley. The creation of a religious congregation, Cove Meeting House, provided a center to the fledgling community and attracted more settlement. By the third-quarter of the 18th century, the community evolved as a village on the Charlottesville-to-Lynchburg stagecoach road, and the arrival of a railroad in the mid-19th century furthered its development. Significant growth, however, occurred after a commercial apple orchard was established in 1866. The orchard grew the highly popular Albemarle Pippin, resulting in one of the most successful early apple operations in Virginia. Its success spurred village development with construction of workers’ housing, a railroad depot, shipping sheds, apple packing and grader plants, cider mills, stores, and other industry-related resources. In addition, high-style residences within the Covesville Historic District were also built, reflecting the profitability of the agricultural and commercial ventures.
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
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia