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Things we’ve noticed while piecing together Waynesboro from nomination forms, maps, records and neighbors’ memories. Each one lists its evidence. Documented discoveries are stated by a source; inferred ones are our reading of the evidence; remembered ones come from someone who knew the house. We’d welcome a correction or a better source at contact@abodery.com.
By neighborhood: Waynesboro Downtown, Port Republic Road, Tree Streets
Around town
| Discovery | Status | Evidence and sources |
|---|---|---|
Waynesboro and Basic City became one town in 1923 Voters in both towns approved consolidation in August 1923. The combined town was first called Waynesboro-Basic; the General Assembly renamed it Waynesboro in 1924. | Documented | Published histories of Basic City and Waynesboro. |
Sanborn's surveyors counted the town each time The title pages of the Waynesboro Sanborn maps give its population: 1,200 in 1886 (when the map also noted "Water facilities: Not good"), 2,500 for Waynesboro and the new Basic City together in 1891, 1,600 in 1907 (with 1,500 more in Basic City), 1,400 in 1913, 2,100 in 1920, and 4,000 in 1925, the first edition after the merger. | Documented | Population figures printed on the index sheet of each edition. These are Sanborn's own estimates, not census counts. |
Archibald Stuart born in 1757 Archibald Stuart, a Revolutionary soldier, legislator and judge, was born here on March 19, 1757, at his grandfather's home. | Published | Historical highway marker JF-15, "Walnut Grove" (Virginia Department of Historic Resources). |
Pratt family ownership The property where Archibald Stuart was born was acquired by William A. Pratt in 1868 and by G. Julian Pratt in 1900. | Published | Historical highway marker JF-15, "Walnut Grove" (Virginia Department of Historic Resources). |
Washington College graduate James Abbott Fishburne opened his school James Abbott Fishburne, an honor graduate of Washington College, opened a school in 1879 with 24 students. It eventually became Fishburne Military School. | Published | Historical highway marker Q-19, "Fishburne Military School" (Virginia Department of Historic Resources). |
Walker exploring expedition The Walker exploring expedition started from this vicinity in 1748. | Published | Historical highway marker Q-2-a, "Waynesboro" (Virginia Department of Historic Resources). |
Augusta militia assembly In June, 1781, the Augusta militia assembled here to join Lafayette in the East. | Published | Historical highway marker Q-2-a, "Waynesboro" (Virginia Department of Historic Resources). |
Early settlement in the 1730s Settlers began to arrive to present day Augusta County in the 1730s and by the Revolutionary War a small hamlet existed. | Published | Historical highway marker Q-2-b, "Waynesboro" (Virginia Department of Historic Resources). |
Early's last battle The last engagement of the Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early took place on the ridge west of Waynesboro. | Published | Historical highway marker W-160, "Early's Last Battle" (Virginia Department of Historic Resources). |
In the neighborhoods
Waynesboro Downtown
| Discovery | Status | Evidence and sources |
|---|---|---|
Church Street was Second Street On the 1886 Sanborn map, the streets crossing Main on either side of Wayne Avenue are 2nd Street and 1st Street. By 1907 the map labels them "Church (Second)" and "Mill (First)": Church Street for the Methodist and Presbyterian churches on it, Mill Street for the street running down to the J. A. Patterson Jr. roller mill by the river. | Documented | Street labels on the 1886 Sanborn sheet and the dual labels on 1907 sheet 2. Why each name was chosen is our reading: the churches and the mill are drawn on those streets. |
Federal Street was Sycamore Alley The street one block south of Main is Sycamore on the 1886 map. The 1920 map labels it "Federal (Sycamore Alley)", catching the new name while the old one was still in use. | Documented | Street labels on the 1886 and 1920 Sanborn sheets; the 1886 street lines up with today's Federal Street within a few meters. |
Mill Street has disappeared Mill Street ran from Main Street down past the flour mill and the Lambert planing mill on every Sanborn map from 1907 to 1925. It doesn't appear in today's street data. | Inferred | Mill St is labeled on the 1907–1925 Sanborn sheets; no street of that name exists in OpenStreetMap's Waynesboro data today. When and why it was closed is not yet researched. |
Port Republic Road
| Discovery | Status | Evidence and sources |
|---|---|---|
Shiloh Street was once Church Street The street east of Port Republic Road where Shiloh Baptist Church stands is labeled Church St. on the 1925 Sanborn map. | Inferred | 1925 Sanborn sheet 12 shows Shiloh Baptist Church on "Church St."; aligning the sheet to today's streets puts that street on modern Shiloh Street (within about 3 m). |
Elkton Avenue became Elkton Street The 2002 Port Republic Road nomination lists seven houses on Elkton Avenue. In the city's address records today the same houses are on Elkton Street. | Documented | Nomination inventory compared with Virginia's statewide address points (VGIN). |
Tree Streets
| Discovery | Status | Evidence and sources |
|---|---|---|
The Tree Streets' cross streets used to be 1st through 6th Today's 11th through 16th Streets are labeled 1st through 6th St. W. on the 1925 Sanborn map. That map was drawn two years after Waynesboro and Basic City merged, and Basic City's own numbered streets east of the river still started at 1st St. E., so the west side was renumbered sometime after 1925. | Inferred | 1925 Sanborn sheets 10 and 11 label the streets 1st–6th St. W.; block spacing on the sheets matches today's 11th–16th Streets within 5 m. The 2001 nomination already uses Eleventh–Sixteenth. We haven't found a record of when the renumbering happened. |
Race Avenue has moved On the Sanborn maps Race Avenue meets 13th Street a full block east of Arch Avenue. Today the intersection is only about half that distance away, so the street has been realigned since 1925. | Inferred | Aligning the 1925 Sanborn sheet 8 to today's streets fits every intersection within 1.5 m except Race Ave and 13th St, which is off by about 20 m. |
Oak, Cherry and Locust weren't on the 1913 map The 1913 Sanborn map covers the Tree Streets only from Pine Avenue east. The blocks along Oak, Cherry and Locust first appear in 1920, when Sanborn extended its survey west. | Documented | Key maps on the index sheets of the 1913 and 1920 editions. |
Sanborn reused its drawings The 1920 sheet 10 and the 1925 sheet 11 are the same drawing of the southern Tree Streets, renumbered for the larger 1925 atlas. Sanborn kept its plates and updated them rather than redrawing each town. | Inferred | Layout, lettering and panel split of the two sheets are identical. |
House by house
| Discovery | Status | Evidence and sources |
|---|---|---|
A school for young ladies stood at Wayne and Eleventh In 1888 Bettie Winston opened the Valley Seminary for young ladies at Wayne Avenue and Eleventh Street. By 1907 the Sanborn map labels the two-story brick building there "Formerly Valley Seminary, now used as dwelling." The Winstons' own house still stands at 437 Walnut Avenue. | Documented | The Tree Streets nomination entry for 437 Walnut Ave, and the label on the 1907 Sanborn map at Wayne Ave and First (now Eleventh) Street. |
324 Chestnut Ave, Verdie L. Haines House Caught mid-construction in 1907 When the Sanborn surveyors came through in 1907, the house at 324 Chestnut Avenue was only a foundation. It was apparently finished in 1910. Choose 1907 on the house's map to see it. | Documented | Tree Streets nomination entry for 324 Chestnut Ave, citing the 1907 Sanborn map. |
347 Port Republic Rd, Phil A. Hilton House and Office A doctor's house and office, half built in 1925 The 1925 Sanborn map shows only the foundation of 347 Port Republic Road. By 1930 the house was complete. Dr. Phil A. Hilton built it and used it as his office as well. | Documented | Port Republic Road nomination entry for 347 Port Republic Rd, citing the 1925 and 1930 Sanborn maps. |
208 Port Republic Rd, Tarry's Hotel A weekend retreat for Black servicemen Tarry's Hotel at 208 Port Republic Road, built in 1940 by Vassar Tarry, a deacon of Shiloh Baptist Church, served as a weekend retreat for African American servicemen during World War II. | Documented | Port Republic Road nomination entry for 208 Port Republic Rd. |
330 W Main St, Casper Coiner House Downtown's oldest building may be Waynesboro's first brick house The Casper Coiner House at 330 West Main Street dates to about 1806, which makes it the district's oldest surviving building. According to a nineteenth-century account it was also Waynesboro's first brick dwelling. As the Coiner-Quesenbery House it was individually listed on the National Register in 1976. | Documented | Waynesboro Downtown Historic District nomination entry for 330 W. Main (citing Hawke, History of Waynesboro), and the NPS National Register listing 76002232. |
W.C. Saunders farm, Tract 327, Page County W.C. Saunders in Shenandoah NP and Waynesboro The name W. C. Saunders appears in both the Shenandoah National Park tract records and the Waynesboro property records. The person who may be the same individual is identified as a tract owner in Page County and as a builder in Waynesboro. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the park's land records and the National Register nomination for 816 W 11th St. |
W.C. Saunders farm, Tract 327, Page County W.C. Saunders in Shenandoah NP and Waynesboro The name W. C. Saunders appears in both the Shenandoah National Park tract records and the Waynesboro property records. The person who may be the same individual is identified as a tract owner in Page County and as a builder in Waynesboro. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the park's land records and the National Register nomination for 820 W 11th St. |
W.C. Saunders farm, Tract 327, Page County W.C. Saunders name in Page County and Waynesboro The name W. C. Saunders appears in both the records for the W. C. Saunders farm in Page County and the 816 W 11th St property in Waynesboro. The person who owned the Page County tract may be the same as the W. C. Saunders who built the Waynesboro house in 1930, but the records do not confirm this link. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the park's land records and the National Register nomination for 816 W 11th St. |
525 Maple Ave, J. Frank Harper House Harry Brooks Built or Remodeled Two Waynesboro Homes Contractor Harry Brooks is recorded as the builder for the Colonial Revival house at 525 Maple Ave in 1924 and for the Tudor Revival remodeling of the Queen Anne-influenced house at 765 Pine Ave in 1935. The nomination for 765 Pine Ave notes the work is "similar in execution" to his other projects and presumes he remodeled the house. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 525 Maple Ave and the National Register nomination for 765 Pine Ave. |
525 Maple Ave, J. Frank Harper House Harry Brooks Built Two Waynesboro Homes Contractor Harry Brooks is recorded as the builder for both the 1924 Colonial Revival house at 525 Maple Ave and the 1927 Tudor Revival house at 668 Walnut Ave. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 525 Maple Ave and the National Register nomination for 668 Walnut Ave. |
601 W Main St, Main Street Methodist Church A wooden dwelling stood here before the church Sanborn fire insurance maps from 1907 to 1920 show a two-story wooden dwelling at this address. The current brick church replaced this earlier structure. | From the records | The 1907, 1913, 1920, and 1920 (high confidence) Sanborn maps depict a two-story wood-frame dwelling (marked with 'D') at the lot corresponding to 601 W Main St. |
Shaw, Ranzini and Wood Designed Two Waynesboro Homes The architectural firm Shaw, Ranzini and Wood is recorded as the architect for both the Bohnson House at 604 Cherry Ave and the Carl and Nettie Bowman House at 611 S Wayne Ave. The firm appears in the nomination records for both properties. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 604 Cherry Ave and the National Register nomination for 611 S Wayne Ave. |
611 S Wayne Ave, Carl and Nettie Bowman House M. Ree Ellis Built Two Waynesboro Colonial Revival Homes The contractor M. Ree Ellis is recorded as the builder for both the Carl and Nettie Bowman House at 611 S Wayne Ave (1911) and the Pleine House at 709 Pine Ave (1917). Both properties are Colonial Revival structures in Waynesboro, Virginia. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 611 S Wayne Ave and the National Register nomination for 709 Pine Ave. |
Early history of the Leap Apartments site Sanborn maps suggest a structure existed on this lot as early as 1920, though the current building dates to the 1930s or 1940s. | From the records | The 1920 Sanborn map shows a two-story wood dwelling on the lot, while the nomination dates the current structure to the 1930s-40s. |
617 W Main St, George S. Etter House George S. Etter's brick veneer home Sanborn maps suggest the house at 617 W Main St was originally wood-framed in 1913, with brick veneer appearing by 1920 and solid brick by 1925. | From the records | The 1913 map shows a yellow interior (wood) with a pink border (brick veneer), while the 1920 and 1925 maps depict the structure with a pink fill (brick). |
618 W Main St, Reynolds Funeral Service and Crematory A dwelling stood on this lot before the 1941 funeral home Sanborn maps suggest a two-story wooden dwelling occupied this lot as early as 1920, decades before the current brick building was erected in 1941. | From the records | The 1920 Sanborn map depicts a two-story wood dwelling (marked with a 'D') on the lot, while the 1913 map shows the site as an empty lot. |
620 Chestnut Ave, Margaret and James Wilson House Lambert Bros. Built Mirror-Image Homes The construction firm Lambert Bros. is recorded as the builder of 620 Chestnut Ave and the owner of the mirror-image house at 628 Chestnut Ave. The nomination for 628 Chestnut Ave notes that the company "most likely built the house and its mirror image next door at 620 Chestnut." | Possible connection | Found in the National Register nomination for 628 Chestnut Ave. |
620 W Main St, General Wayne Inn Harry Brooks built two Waynesboro properties Contractor Harry Brooks served as the general contractor for the General Wayne Inn in 1937 and is also credited with building the house at 660 Pine Avenue in 1947. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 620 W Main St and the National Register nomination for 660 Pine Ave. |
620 W Main St, General Wayne Inn Harry Brooks built General Wayne Inn and remodeled 765 Pine Ave Contractor Harry Brooks served as the general contractor for the General Wayne Inn at 620 W Main St and is linked to the Tudor Revival remodeling of the Bell-Jones House at 765 Pine Ave. The nomination for 765 Pine Ave notes its remodeling is similar to Brooks' own house and presumes he worked on both properties. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 620 W Main St and the National Register nomination for 765 Pine Ave. |
620 W Main St, General Wayne Inn Architect Daley Craig designed two Waynesboro landmarks Architect Daley Craig is recorded in the nomination text for the LB&B Building (101-127 S Wayne Ave) as maintaining an office there in the 1930s and is listed as an architect for the property. He is also explicitly credited as the architect for the Fleming Hurt House (701 Locust Ave), which was built in 1941. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 620 W Main St and the National Register nomination for 701 Locust Ave. |
620 W Main St, General Wayne Inn Harry Brooks built two Waynesboro properties Contractor Harry Brooks served as the builder for the General Wayne Inn at 620 W Main St in 1937 and is also credited with building the William B. Gallaher House at 672 Pine Ave in 1929. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 620 W Main St and the National Register nomination for 672 Pine Ave. |
620 W Main St, General Wayne Inn Harry Brooks Built Two Waynesboro Properties Contractor Harry Brooks served as the builder for the General Wayne Inn in 1937 and the Bacon House in 1927. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 620 W Main St and the National Register nomination for 668 Walnut Ave. |
620 W Main St, General Wayne Inn The General Wayne Inn replaced an earlier wooden dwelling Sanborn maps suggest the current brick hotel replaced an earlier two-story wooden dwelling that stood on this lot in 1925. Sources differ: the 1913 Sanborn map gives “Sanborn maps suggest the current brick hotel replaced an earlier two-story wooden dwelling that stood on this lot in 1925”; the 1913 Sanborn map says “The lot is empty”. | From the records | The 1925 Sanborn map depicts a two-story wood-frame dwelling at this address, whereas the 1913 and 1920 maps show the lot as vacant or unimproved. |
Chestnut Avenue house appears built between 1920 and 1925 Sanborn maps show the lot at 636 Chestnut Ave was empty in 1920 but contained a two-story dwelling by 1925. This suggests the house was constructed during that five-year period. | From the records | The 1920 map depicts the lot as a blank rectangle with no structures, while the 1925 map shows a yellow-filled two-story building with a one-story porch on the same lot. |
704 Pine Ave, J. W. Bowman House J. W. Bowman owned homes at 704 and 710 Pine Ave J. W. Bowman is listed as the owner of the Victorian house at 704 Pine Ave in 1918 and later as the owner of the Craftsman bungalow at 710 Pine Ave in 1940. The nomination for 710 Pine Ave notes that the home was built for his daughter, Louise Hanger. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 704 Pine Ave and the National Register nomination for 710 Pine Ave. |
704 Pine Ave, J. W. Bowman House Curtis Bowman Owned Two Pine Avenue Homes Curtis Bowman is listed as an owner of the Victorian house at 704 Pine Ave in 1918 and later as an owner of the Bell-Jones House at 765 Pine Ave in 1935. The nomination records for both properties explicitly name him as the owner during these respective periods. | Possible connection | Found in the National Register nomination for 704 Pine Ave. |
704 Pine Ave, J. W. Bowman House J. W. Bowman owned homes at 704 Pine Ave and 814 15th St J. W. Bowman is listed as an owner of the Victorian house at 704 Pine Ave (built ca. 1918) and the Craftsman bungalow at 814 15th St (built ca. 1940). The nomination for 814 15th St notes that Bowman's house stands next door at 704 Pine. | Possible connection | Found in the National Register nomination for 704 Pine Ave. |
710 Pine Ave, Harper and Louise Hanger House J. W. Bowman owned homes at 710 Pine Ave and 814 15th St J. W. Bowman is listed as an owner of both 710 Pine Ave and 814 15th St. His daughters, Louise Bowman Harmon and Elizabeth Bowman Hanger, built nearly identical Craftsman bungalows at these addresses in 1940. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 710 Pine Ave and the National Register nomination for 814 15th St. |
Twin Craftsman Duplexes on W 11th St Built in 1929 by Jake Fisher, the Craftsman duplexes at 717-719 and 721-723 W 11th St are identical rental properties located next door to each other. The nomination records explicitly state that the duplex at 717-719 is identical to the one at 721-723 and that both were constructed by the same builder. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 717-719 W 11th St and the National Register nomination for 721-723 W 11th St. |
816 W 11th St, Oliver Smith House W. C. Saunders built twin houses on W 11th St The nomination says the houses at 816 and 820 W 11th St, both dated to the 1930s, are virtually identical and were both built by hardware store owner W. C. Saunders. | Possible connection | Found by comparing the National Register nomination for 816 W 11th St and the National Register nomination for 820 W 11th St. |