Poplar Lawn Historic District

Poplar Lawn Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Virginia Landmarks Register
Historic home in Poplar Lawn Historic District, June 2011
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Location	Roughly bounded by Surrey Lane, St. Jefferson, Mars and Harrison Sts., Jct. of E Wythe and S. Jefferson, from SE of orig. HD to Lieutenant Run, Along both sides of Harrison St. at SW corner, Petersburg, Virginia
Coordinates	37°13′23″N 77°24′03″W
Area	199.2 acres (80.6 ha)
Built	1846 (1846)
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, Second Empire, Italianate
NRHP reference No.	80004315, 06000030 (Boundary Increase)[1]
VLR No.	123-0094
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 23, 1980, February 10, 2006 (Boundary Increase)
Designated VLR	February 26, 1979; December 7, 2005[2]

Poplar Lawn Historic District is a national historic district located in Petersburg, Virginia. The district is named after Petersburg's central park, which spans about two city blocks. In the early 19th century, it was often used as a military parade ground, but during he American Civil War, it became a tent-based detention center and hospital. Later, it became the site of civic celebrations, including possibly the first Memorial Day, on June 9, 1865. The district also includes 372 contributing buildings, mostly mid- to late-19th-century, single-family residences for middle and upper-middle-class families, some constructed of brick, others weatherboard frame, and later subdivided. Residential architectural styles include Greek Revival, Colonial Revival, Second Empire, and Italianate. Notable buildings include the Bolling-Zimmer House (c. 1830), St. Stephen's Church (c. 1912), Zion Baptist Church (c. 1880s), William T. Double House (c. 1855), the Waterworks (1856), Dr. Robert Broadnax House (1858), Market Street Methodist Church Parsonage (c. 1905), Maurice Finn House (c. 1904), and the Frank M. D'Alton Double House (c. 1911).^[3][4]

Poplar Lawn Park features a stone basin of uncertain age that is five feet across, and with an oval-shaped depression a foot wide and a foot deep. It is traditionally known as "Pocahontas' bath", though there is no proof she ever used it.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, with a boundary increase in 2006.^[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
3. Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (January 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Poplar Lawn Historic District" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying four photos and Accompanying map
4. Alison S. Blanton (August 2005). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Poplar Lawn Historic District" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources.