Rockingham

Penn House
Listed on the National Register of Historical Places, the Penn House is a magnificent example of Colonial Revival architecture located on four beautifully landscaped acres. The present colonial revival house was built in 1932 by architect Bryant Hurd of Virginia on the site of the original 1908 home, which burned in 1931. The original 1908-1910 gazebo, well house, and carriage house, examples of the Prairie School of Architecture, are still extant on the grounds. The Penn House is the former home of Charles and Stella Penn. Charles Penn (1868-1931) was the Vice President of American Tobacco, the leading employer in Rockingham County and is largely responsible for developing the popular "Lucky Strikes" brand of cigarettes. Donated by the family to the city of Reidsville in 1980, the Penn House is open to the public for tours (by reservation), special events, meetings, and other approved functions.

Rockingham County Public Library
Madison Public Library - Genealogical Collection
The Madison Public Library, built in 1935, houses one of the finest genealogy collections in the area. The library has a wide collection of North Carolina and Virginia census, marriage and death records, wills, deeds, Revolutionary and Civil War records, family history books and county heritage books. Many records as well as early county newspapers are on microfilm. Family Tree Maker, a genealogy computer program, is also now available for public use.

Rockingham Community College
Gerald B. James Library--Rockingham County Historical Collections
The Historical Collections of Rockingham Community College Foundation, Inc., collect, preserve, exhibit, and make available for public use published materials, rare books, documents, and museum artifacts. The emphasis of the Collection is the heritage of Rockingham County and adjacent areas, but materials that relate to the instructional program of the College will be accepted. This huge and varied collection is open to the public and includes manuscripts, letters, maps, microforms, rare books, reference books, newspapers, vast vertical files, and the college archives. For more information on the Collections, visit http://www.rockinghamcc.edu/library/hcr.htm.

Rockingham County Historical Society, Inc.
Wright Tavern
The Rockingham County Historical Society, Inc., maintains the Wright Tavern (built in 1816) and an historic post office building in Wentworth, aids in the preservation of the county's written, oral, and architectural heritage of various municipal historic preservation groups, and catalogs and maintains the Rockingham County Historical Collections housed in the Gerald B. James Library at Rockingham Community College. They also maintain a collection of historic Rockingham County structures at the community college. The Society provides support for genealogists answering queries in the newsletter, sponsoring genealogy workshops, providing support to the Genealogy Collection at the Madison Branch of the Rockingham County Public Library and helping to discover lost cemeteries and offers a large selection of historical and scenic sites in the county that can be visited.

City of Reidsville
Governor David Settle Reid House
The Governor David Settle Reid House, built in 1881, was the home of Governor Reid for the last ten years of his life. Reid was one of six governors from Rockingham County, and the city of Reidsville is named in honor of his family. This Victorian home was the first structure in Reidsville to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now home to the Reidsville Chamber of Commerce and is open to the public for their education and enjoyment.

Rockingham Community College
Historical Village
Photographs of four structures built from the mid 19th centur through the early 20th century. The buildings were moved from various locations within Rockingham County to the campus of tobacco barn and a corn crib, as well as a one room school house.