The designation of Gwynn’s Island as a historic district took another step forward last Thursday night as Preservation Mathews and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources held a public hearing on the proposed district before a packed audience at the Gwynn’s Island Civic League.

The next step will be on June 15, when a decision will be reached on the designation during a joint meeting of the State Review Board and the Virginia Board of Historic Resources at Mariners’ Museum in Newport News. If approved at that meeting for a listing as a historic district in the Virginia Landmarks Register, the nomination will go to the National Park Service for consideration for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lori Jackson Black, president of Preservation Mathews, provided residents with a brief history of the project, saying that it began a number of years ago with initial efforts by the Mathews County Historical Society. The preservation organization then took over th...