Tompkins Cottage, a weatherboard-clad structure, is one of the oldest standing buildings in the Mathews Downtown Historic District. Architectural historians surmise it was erected in two building campaigns. The oldest portion, dated by dendrochronology to circa 1820, has undergone little alteration and consists of a large heated room with a shed extension to the rear. In 1856, a story and a half addition with chimney and a shed extension was completed, and the overhead unheated room was accessible by means of the original stairway. Although it is uncertain who built the building, court records indicate that in 1837 Colonel Christopher Tompkins bought the quarter-acre lot on which it stands. Over time, it served as a tailor shop, photography studio, and private residence. Since 1969, the Mathews County Historical Society, Inc., a nonprofit organization, has leased the county-owned building. Today, Tompkins Cottage is used as a local history museum and interpretive facility, and it is registered as a Virginia Historic Landmark and placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior.