Virginia has designated three historic sites in the region as state landmarks.
Among the seven places recently added to the Virginia Landmarks Register are Montvale High School in Bedford County, the Randolph-Macon Woman’s College Historic District in Lynchburg, and Fishburn Park Keeper’s Cottage in the City of Roanoke.
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These properties, along with others across the state, were approved by the Commonwealth’s Board of Historic Resources during its quarterly public meeting on March 19 in Richmond.
Montvale High School, built in 1930 along U.S. Route 460, served as a high school and later as an elementary school until 1996. The building continued to host sports activities until 2014. More recently, in November 2025, it received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to transform the site into a community center. The listing describes the building as a representation of Virginia’s efforts to improve public education in rural areas during the Progressive Era.
The Randolph-Macon Woman’s College Historic District, located in the Rivermont neighborhood of Lynchburg, was also listed. Established in 1891, it is recognized as one of the earliest and longest-operating women’s colleges in the South, according to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Fishburn Park Keeper’s Cottage in Roanoke was included as well. Known as one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city, the cottage was built in phases between about 1820 and 1850. The Virginia Landmarks Register states, “The cottage exemplifies an early 19th-century hewn-log farmhouse that was enlarged to accommodate a growing family with the addition of lateral wings, one built of logs and the other of timber frame. While both types of construction were once common in Southwest Virginia dwellings, the assortment of joinery techniques in Keeper’s Cottage makes it a unique building in the region.”
Other newly designated landmarks across Virginia include:
- 2108 Jefferson Ave. in the East End community of Newport News
- The Ames-Old Farm in Suffolk
- Henry Clay Elementary School in the Hanover County town of Ashland
- The Saunders House in the Fauquier County town of Warrenton