The four Rudd Branch Ridge archaeological complexes within the John H. Kerr Reservoir area contain the undisturbed remains of adjacent tobacco farms. The time period extends from late 1800s to the 1940s when the tracts were purchased by the federal government for the reservoir. The two house sites are surrounded by an extensive array of ornamental vegetation including boxwood, privet, flower bulbs, grapevines, cedar, periwinkle, rose bushes, ivy, magnolia, and fruit trees. Associated with complexes 1 & 2 are the stone foundations of outbuildings, tobacco barns, and a tobacco ordering room. Rudd Branch Ridge Complexes 3 & 4 likewise have sites of outbuildings and farm buildings, including tobacco barns and a tobacco ordering room. The study of these sites and the related landscape could reveal insight into the broad patterns of tobacco culture in the Southern Piedmont.
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