For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/20/1989
NRHP Listing Date 01/10/1991
NRHP Reference Number 90002006
Riner began prior to the Civil War as a spontaneous, unplanned crossroads settlement serving the surrounding farming community. First known as Five Forks for is situation at the junction of five roads, the hamlet offered mercantile, religious, and milling services to the neighboring folk. Riner thrived following the mid-1850s construction of the Christiansburg and Floyd Turnpike through the village. By the 1870s it boasted a store, a meetinghouse, school, lumberyard, tanyard, hotel, shoe factory, barrel factory, blacksmith shop, and a tobacco factory. Since bypassed by progress, Riner today is a somnolent relic of a bygone era. The heart of the historic area is marked by buildings either empty or no longer serving their original function, among them the 1908 Methodist Episcopal Church, the 1913 former Bank of Riner; the mid-19th century Jonathan Hall house-store, and the ca. 1910 Surface Mill.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated April 4, 2018
