Category: Architecture
Buildings and structures.
-
The Covered Bridge at Temperance Wayside
“We rattle through the Hardware River’s old-timey “rabbit burrow” bridge,” wrote Virginia Moore, talking about life in Scottsville between the wars. This was the covered bridge built about 1850 at Temperance Wayside where Highway 6 crosses the Hardware River. Sheridan’s departing troops had clattered over it in 1865. A painting by Cornelia Burgess Dorrier shows…
Written by
-
Biking Through Albemarle with John Jones in the 1800s
Linda Listmann of Santa Cruz, CA, is transcribing her great grandfather’s journals, which began in 1875. His name was John Jones. In the summer of 1882, John was one of two astronomers, who came with Ormond Stone from the Cincinnati Observatory to oversee the building of McCormick Observatory at the University of Virginia. Stone became…
Written by
-
Tutwiler’s Boat Yard
The painting above by J.W. Tutwiler depicts the Tutwiler Boat Yard in Scottsville which was owned and operated by Wesley Clark Tutwiler until his death in 1871. After his passing, Wesley’s wife, Amanda Marie (Moon) Tutwiler, operated this boatyard that built and repaired canal boats for use on the James River and Kanawha Canal between…
Written by
-
Barclay House
Name: Barclay House Date: ca. 1900 Image Number: B02cdB19 The Barclay House is a small townhouse on Scottsville’s Lot 31 and is next door to the Disciples of Christ Church (now Scottsville Museum) on Main Street. John B. Hart purchased this property without a structure in 1830 and resold the lot six months later for…
Written by
-
Valley Street
Since the colonial era, Vally Street has been the main commercial corridor in Scottsville. A natural ravine led down the high bluffs to the ferry at Scotts Landing, providing access for wagons loaded with goods and passengers to the James River and trade with the outside world. Burgess took the photo above, the oldest in…
Written by
-
Victory Hall
Victory Hall, later called Victory Theatre, was completed in 1920 on Scottsville’s Valley Street to commemorate the Armistice of World I. It was the dream of Scottsville drama teacher, Marion McKay, to have a setting for dramatic performances and traveling vaudeville and Chautauqua shows. Designed by D. Wiley Anderson, a local architect, the hall was…
Written by
-
Masonic Lodge
On June 17, 1914, Scottsville Masonic Lodge #45 laid the cornerstone for its current home at 137 Main Street. It was a stirring day in Scottsville with the town band marching down Valley Street, leading Lodge members from their meeting area at Beal’s Hall to the new Lodge site. The first Lodge meeting was held…
Written by
-
Dorrier Building
The Dorrier Building, located at 280 Valley Street, was built in 1912 by William Dorrier as a general merchandise and feed-grain store. William’s son, Charles Richard Dorrier (1885-1966), operated this store for fifty years under the name, C.R. Dorrier and Company. The second floor of the building was used as a storage area and apartments.…
Written by
-
Pitts Building
330 Valley Street Constructed around 1910 by J.L. Pitts, this was the site of the Scottsville Drug Company, started by Thomas Ellison Bruce, the first pharmacist in Scottsville. Many businesses have operated at this location over the past 100 years, including general mercantile and several restaurants. From 2010 to present (2026) it has been home…
Written by
-
Old Canal Warehouse
Built around 1834-1844, the Canal Warehouse is a large, gambrel-roofed building, located along the former James River & Kanawha Canal bank in Scottsville. While river and canal traffic flourished, the warehouse was full of tobacco, grain, and other produce waiting to be shipped to Richmond markets. Scottsville was an important shipping point on the canal,…
Written by
