For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 01/16/1973
NRHP Listing Date 06/25/1973
NRHP Reference Number 73002047
The Page County courthouse, atop one of the highest points in Luray, was designed and constructed by William B. Phillips, mason, and Malcolm F. Crawford, carpenter, master builders formerly employed by Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia. Completed by 1834, the temple-form building, with its Tuscan pediment and entablature, shows the influence of the third president’s distinctive classical style. Although the ground-floor arcade was also a feature favored by Jefferson, the arcade was a traditional element of Virginia courthouses since the colonial period. Here the arcade was directed by the Page County commissioners to be carried into the one story wings. The pedimented belfry with its paired pilasters is also an original feature. The building’s form is very similar to that of the Madison County Courthouse, also a Phillips and Crawford project.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated April 4, 2018
