A Visit To Kilmarnock

Published August 2004

Kilmarnock, Virginia sits at the crossroads of two key Northern Neck highways, Route 3 and Route 200. In fact, before this town got a name reflecting its Scottish heritage, it was known as “the crossroads.”

It’s first name was Steptoe’s Ordinary, but now we’re really traveling back in time, to the late 1600s, when the tiny crossroads began to coalesce into a center of commerce for area farmers and watermen. By the 1770s, enough Scottish merchants had settled in the area to select a name that made them feel right at home. It’s been Kilmarnock ever since.

The face of Kilmarnock has changed a lot over the years, though not by design. The town was devastated by fire, not once, but three times in the 20th Century, the last one occurring in 1952. Even though much of the old downtown was destroyed, its memory is preserved at the Kilmarnock Museum on North Main Street, where exhibits of photographs and artifacts recall the early days of the bustling town.

Perhaps because of its strategic location, Kilmarnock today is the Northern Neck’s largest town. It has a modern hospital, a weekly newspaper and a radio station, along with a thriving commercial sector that includes nearly two dozen restaurants, and a large number of retail stores, selling everything from jewelry to furniture to upscale toys.

Besides being a regional shopping destination for Northern Neck residents, Kilmarnock in recent years has been transformed into an antique and art center, drawing many visitors to the town. Kilmarnock has two large antique galleries – Kilmarnock Antique Gallery and Main Street Antique Gallery, and two art galleries, all within easy walking distance of downtown.

The Kilmarnock Center for the Arts opened in 1991, providing live community theater with at least four productions a year. The Academy for Performing and Creative Arts offers instructions in dance, music and karate.

Kilmarnock, a town with a rich past, is enthusiastically embracing the future. Plans are underway to develop more land for community use. At the same time, the “Main Street Renovation Project” is set to begin in early 2005, changing the face of downtown to a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

Despite changing with the times, Kilmarnock retains its place in Northern Neck history, and its appreciation for the traditions of the Northern Neck.