The Martinsville Historic District encompasses the historic core of the city, a tobacco, furniture, and textile manufacturing center in the southern Virginia Piedmont and the seat of Henry County. Martinsville’s historic buildings date from the 1820s through the post-World War II period. The first boom of development occurred when the Danville & Western Railroad (completed in 1883) and the Norfolk and Western Railroad (completed in 1892) allowed greater access to Martinsville’s commercial and industrial potential. The 45-acre downtown historic district features the Henry County Courthouse, historic retail establishments, professional businesses, banks, hotels, theatres, social lodges, factories, and warehouses. Reflecting the city’s position and prosperity as the center of regional government, commerce, industry, and transportation, the buildings within the Martinsville Historic District were designed in a range of popular late-19th- and 20th-century architectural styles and building materials.

At the time that an updated nomination for the Martinsville Historic District was approved in 2022, the district remained largely unchanged from its original listing in 1998, with the exception of redevelopment along the western edge of the district, which resulted in a boundary reduction. In a separate action, the district’s boundaries were increased to include several historic commercial buildings, which were constructed just outside the original period of significance for the district, or had been altered with mid-20th century façade improvements. These buildings, and in many cases their alterations, have become significant in their own right.
[VLR Approved: 9/15/2022; NRHP Approval: 12/27/2022]