The Doyne Building

The Doyne Building

This building and the Doyne family which owned it were a staple in Farmville's history for many
years. The Doyne’s were a mainstay in the Farmville community, owning an influential business
that catered to the town’s inhabitants for much of its history. The building is still in use today
and remains a staple in Farmville's main street charm.
The Doyne building was owned and operated by the notable Doyne family who used it for their
undertaking service. Interestingly, their business is the oldest in Farmville operating under the
same name. The business was founded by John Doyne, son of an Irish immigrant Peter Doyne.
John Doyne had been a veteran of the American Civil War serving in Company F of the 18th
Virginia Infantry, as well as a deacon of the Baptist church. He began his trade as a cabinet
maker at seventeen years old where he learned to make coffins, eventually establishing a sizeable
undertaking business for which an advert can be seen from 1875.

Under John Doyne’s son, William Thomas Doyne, the family expanded their business buying
another large store. They began to sell a variety of general furniture as well as organs, baby
carriages, carpets, and linoleums. William Thomas Doyne also expanded the business into
embalming services becoming one of the first licensed embalmers in Virginia.
The Doyne building used to adjoin another building on its right which bulged into what is now
the business road of 3rd Street. However, it was torn down to expand the road and increase
traffic flow. In addition to this, the Doyne building was initially only a two story building but in
1905 the building was given a 3rd floor and renovations were done to match the front face of the
new floor with the others. The building is now the home of a barbershop and the upper floors are
being renovated for use as apartments and student housing for Longwood University.

Sources:

Farmville Herald, Today and Yesterday in the Heart of Virginia (Farmville, VA: The Farmville Herald, 1935) 44;

H. Clarence Bradshaw, History of Farmville Virginia 1798-1948 (Farmville, VA: The Farmville Herald, 1994) 282.

Farmville Herald, Today and Yesterday, 44-45.

Farmville Herald, Today and Yesterday, 45; Bradshaw, History of Farmville, 282.

Jimmy Hurt (Farmville Historic Society), Interview by Danny Scott, Farmville, VA, November 13 th , 2019

Images courtesy of Jimmy Hurt, Farmville Historic Society.