Virginia State Route 261
State highway in the City of Staunton, Virginia, US
State Route 261 (SR 261) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Statler Boulevard, the state highway runs 2.21 miles (3.56 km) from U.S. Route 11 (US 11) north to Coalter Street within the independent city of Staunton. SR 261 is an unsigned four-lane divided highway that provides an eastern truck bypass of downtown Staunton. The state highway is marked along much of its route as U.S. Route 11 Truck and US 250 Truck.
Route description
SR 261 begins an intersection with US 11 (Greenville Avenue) and unnumbered Old Greenville Road southeast of downtown Staunton. This intersection is also the southern terminus of US 11 Truck. The four-lane divided highway intersects US 250 (Richmond Road), where the state highway also begins to run concurrently with US 250 Truck. SR 261 crosses over CSX's North Mountain Subdivision and curves west to intersect SR 254 (New Hope Road), the Chesapeake Western Railway, and US 11 (Commerce Road). At the US 11 intersection, US 11 Truck reaches its northern terminus and US 250 Truck turns north onto US 11. US 250 Truck follows US 11 and SR 262 north and west to reconnect with US 250 northwest of Staunton.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Virginia State Route 261” as state highway in the City of Staunton, Virginia, US. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as state highway in the City of Staunton, Virginia, US. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 24, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2508146. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Virginia State Route 261”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Virginia State Route 261 primary sources, Virginia State Route 261 archive and Virginia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Virginia State Route 261”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Virginia State Route 261” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.