Named in honor of the Massachusetts town where the American Revolution began, Lexington was incorporated as a town in 1778, partially destroyed by fire 18 years later, reconstructed, and eventually chartered as a city in 1966.

Many of the structures that were rebuilt or constructed after the fire of 1796 are officially designated State and national historical landmarks. Two of these landmarks, Washington and Lee University, founded in 1749, and Virginia Military Institute, founded in 1839, are among the oldest and most prominent academic institutions in the nation.