Welcome to the Northern Neck Land Conservancy

Working to preserve the land you love.

Kilmarnock 1956 Main Street

Main Street as it appeared in 1956, looking south

Map of Kilmarnock, VA

Directions to Kilmarnock, VA

Kilmarnock, VA, population 1,244, is located in Virginia's Northern Neck, in Lancaster county. Originally settled in 1719, the settlement was originally known as Steptoe's Ordinary. Kilmarnock was incorporated in 1930.

Kilmarnock circa 1910

Kilmarnock circa 1910

Kilmarnock Aerial View circa 1960's

Aerial View circa 1960's

The town's population in 1990 census was 1,102. Through the 90's Kilmarnock's population has grown by about 12%.

The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas on the western shore of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. This peninsula is bounded by the Potomac River on the north and the Rappahannock River on the south. It encompasses four Virginia counties: Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland.

Many important historical figures were born on the Northern Neck, including US presidents George Washington and James Monroe, as well as the Civil War general Robert E. Lee.

The Chesapeake Bay, itself, has an interesting geological history. Read about "The Chesapeake Bay Bolide: Modern Consequences of an Ancient Cataclysm"

A LITTLE KILMARNOCK HISTORY

First called "The Crossroads" and then "Steptoe's Ordinary," Kilmarnock has been a center of commerce for many years. Located on the southern end of Virginia's historic Northern Neck and bounded by the Potomac River to the north, the Chesapeake Bay to the east and the Rappahannock River to the south.

The land which would eventually become the town of Kilmarnock was patented about 1664 by Gervase Dodson and George Wale, with Wale later becoming the sole owner. By 1676, Anthony Steptoe came into possession of 278 acres which represents a major portion of the land that Kilmarnock now occupies.

One of his heirs, William Steptoe I, who operated an "ordinary" and store in town was possibly the first commercial entrepreneur, and thus the name "Steptoe's Ordinary."

The first known reference to the land as "Kilmarnock" is in a deed dated 1778. Over the years, Kilmarnock has been a center of commerce, not only for town residents, but area watermen and farmers.

The town survived three devastating fires occuring in 1909, 1915 and 1952.