The fourth edition of The Virginia Landmarks Register is an entirely new, fully illustrated compilation of the state's buildings, structures, sites, and districts that have been officially designated as historic landmarks by the Virginia Board of Historic Resources over the past thirty years. The assemblage of nearly 1,800 entries—700 more than in the third edition, published in 1986—represents the most comprehensive inventory of Virginia's rich and varied historic patrimony ever published.

An invaluable reference for any Virginian, scholar, planner, architect, or preservationist, the Register is far more than an official list of names. Every registered landmark and district is identified by a brief history documenting its significance and by a brief description. Each entry is accompanied by a photograph showing its current appearance. Arranged alphabetically by county and independent city, the entries include not only many nationally famous places but the entire spectrum of the Commonwealth's cultural resources, from a 1,200-year-old prehistoric archaeological site through twentieth-century commercial architecture, from gristmills and metal-truss bridges and iron furnaces to NASA space exploration installations.

Those interested in traditional Virginia architecture will discover a multiplicity of building types, both high-style and vernacular. Included, too, are important landmarks of black history, the Civil War, education, and industry. The Virginia Landmarks Register, fourth edition, will create for the reader a deeper awareness of a unique legacy and will serve to enhance the stewardship of Virginia's irreplaceable heritage.