The Virginia Department of Historic Resources (the Department) is the state historic preservation office, created by §§ 10.1-2201 through 2215 of the Code of Virginia and governed by the General Assembly of Virginia. Our mission is to foster, encourage, and support the stewardship of Virginia’s significant historic architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources. Our programs and services are designed to empower others to further the significance of historic places and their role in shaping Virginia today.

In 2023, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Virginia Tourism Commission and the Department of Historic Resources to report on the findings of the historic study describing The Green Book in Virginia by documenting surviving buildings, including an architectural survey to improve information for at least 60 existing Green Book properties.

The Department contracted cultural resource management firm Commonwealth Preservation Group to identify extant historic resources listed in The Green Book, perform an architectural survey of those resources, and produce a context report about the development and use of The Green Book. The context report used forms issued from National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Document, by the National Park Service and by the Department as the foundation for evaluating the National Register eligibility of related properties. The purpose of the survey and Multiple Property Document is to accelerate and simplify the listing of these properties on the Virginia Landmarks Register, making them eligible for potential sources of funding, highway markers, and increase public education about The Green Book and Black History in Virginia.