Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/10/1998
NRHP Listing Date 01/21/1999
NRHP Reference Number 98001651
Orange Commercial Historic District, located in the heart of the town, contains the community’s oldest public, religious, and commercial buildings. Serving as the county seat of Orange County since 1749, the town is dominated by the 1859 Italian Villa-style Orange County Courthouse. Another prominent building in the district is St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, a Classical Revival-style church erected in 1833-1834. Both the courthouse and church are listed individually in the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district also contains a diverse collection of historic commercial buildings that exhibits a number of architectural styles popular in America from the 1830s to the 1940s. These buildings reflect the development of Orange from its earliest days as a courthouse town and railroad stop, to an era of rebuilding after the devastating fire of 1908, to the transformation of the town during the modern age of the automobile.
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: June 14, 2021
