160-0020 Accomac Historic District

For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF

VLR Listing Date 12/16/1980

NRHP Listing Date 07/21/1982

NRHP Reference Number 82004529

The Eastern Shore courthouse town of Accomac in Accomack County has been a judicial center for over three centuries. The settlement, originally called Matompkin, grew up around John Cole’s tavern, where court was first held in the 1670s. It became the county seat by 1690. The town was laid out adjacent to the court square in 1786 and was known as Drummond or Drummondtown because it was on land which had been owned by Richard Drummond. Renamed Accomac in 1893, the town has evolved gently; its quiet, tree-shaded streets preserve numerous 18th- and 19th-century regional building types, both high-style and vernacular. Outstanding Federal houses include the Seymour house and the brick rectory for St. James Church. Other noteworthy structures in the Accomac Historic District are Seven Gables, The Haven, and the Francis Makemie Presbyterian Church. The colonial courthouse was replaced in 1899 by the present sober Victorian structure designed by F. Bartholomew Smith.

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

Updated: August 29, 2022