Courtland's Early Architecture

Courtland's Early Architecture. (circa 1820-1940). , Structures within the Courtland historic district represent over 150 years of changing tastes in building design. Although only a few of Courtland’s earliest buildings survive, the Federal~style architecture of the oldest houses suggest the community’s strong original links with Virginia and other states of the upper South. Typical early residences of frame and brick feature a gable roof with tall chimneys at each end. Sometimes weatherboarding conceals log walls underneath. Many buildings dating from the 1850s through the 1930s reflect Italianate, Victorian and neoclassical architectural influences. There are also early 20th-century “bungalows”, some built of native sandstone. Courtland still counts about twenty buildings predating the Civil War (1861). , During the early 1800s, an assortment of wooden, brick and log business structures surrounded the town square. Most of the old buildings on the square today (north and east sides) date from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The fronts of some of them feature characteristic Victorian detailing. At the northeast corner of the square are four 19th-century stone mounting blocks placed for the convenience of horseback riders. The tall red cedars seen throughout Courtland and along the streets radiating from the square have been a feature of the landscape since early days.