Built in 1917 by John H. Coulter, the La Crosse Hotel is an outstanding example of an early-20th-century, small-town railroad hotel. The two-story brick hotel occupies a prominent position across the tracks from the former location of the Seaboard Air Line railroad depot and the main commercial strip in the Mecklenburg County town of La Crosse. For nearly half a century the hotel drew travelers and locals alike to its communal dining table and rooms. The hotel was operated by Coulter’s wife until 1926, then by Belle Willis for 25 years, and finally by Ruth Rockwell until 2001, who oversaw its conversion to a boardinghouse in 1979. Under the guidance and management of these respected businesswomen, the hotel flourished at the center of town. Today it serves as a representative example of many of the defining characteristics of the American hotel industry.
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