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Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont » Piedmont » Greene County » Stanardsville

Stanardsville

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U.S. 33
  • Greene County Courthouse (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Greene County Courthouse (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Greene County Courthouse (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Lafayette Hotel (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Lafayette Hotel (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Lafayette Hotel, tavern doors on west end (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Lafayette Hotel, tavern doors on west end (Photograph by Mark Mones)

Stanardsville is a small rural village that gained minor prominence as the county seat when, in 1838, Greene County split off from Orange County. The major attraction is the Greene County Courthouse (1838, William B. Phillips and William Donoho; 1928, addition; 1979, restoration, Thomas R. Wyant, Jr.; Courthouse Square), presumably designed by Phillips, who did the brickwork for the builder of record, Donoho. The courthouse is a simple rectangular one-room Roman Revival structure with rather primitive woodwork of the Doric order. The contract price of $6,832 meant applied pilasters and no portico. In the 1920s, as part of the wave of Jeffersonian and “Old South” nostalgia that swept over the state, it received the four-column Tuscan portico, which improved its appearance. A gas explosion in 1979 badly damaged the structure, and it was restored and brought up to date. The other prominent landmark in town is the Lafayette Hotel (c. 1840; U.S. 30), prominently located on the village's major road and retaining its tiered porches. Of particular interest are the wide floor-to-ceiling doors that opened into the bar, on the ground floor at the west end. Those seeking a drink had ample access.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Richard Guy Wilson et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Blue Ridge School

Citation

Richard Guy Wilson et al., "Stanardsville", [Stanardsville, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-PI49.

Print Source

Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, Richard Guy Wilson and contributors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 142-142.

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