Green Springs National Historic Landmark District is a national historic district in Louisa County, Virginia noted for its concentration of fine rural manor houses and related buildings in an intact agricultural landscape. The district comprises of fertile land, contrasting with the more typical poor soil and scrub pinelands surrounding it.

Description

The district is located 1.5 miles (2 km) north of

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

from exit No. 136, "Zion Crossroads." The district is roughly bounded by U.S. Route 15 and Virginia Routes 22 and 613. The area is named for a natural spring noted by

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

as possessing "some medicinal virtue." The district features a mixture of wooded and farmed lands. Its distinguishing geological feature is the presence of a heavy clay soil that retains plant nutrients and moisture, creating an open landscape suitable for farming. The area is noted for its park-like views, particularly from U.S. Route 15.

Preservation

The district was preserved following attempts by the state of Virginia to build a prison there, and after a strip mine was proposed in the area to mine clay for

cat litter A litter box, also known as a sandbox, cat box, litter tray, cat pan, potty, pot or litter pan, is an indoor feces and urine collection box for cats, as well as rabbits, ferrets, miniature pigs, small dogs, and other pets that instinctively or ...

. The strip mine happened anyway
Google Earth maps
of the area clearly show the destruction caused by the mine) but not on the scale that was intended originally and a great many significant houses and lands continue to be preserved and excluded from the development that is transforming some of the area around the district.

National Register properties

Significant places listed individually on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

include: * Boswell's Tavern, an important meeting place during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

and a well-preserved example of a Colonial-era tavern. * Grassdale, an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

villa built in 1861 by the Morris family, later home of Rear Admiral

David W. Taylor David Watson Taylor (March 4, 1864 – July 28, 1940) was a U.S. naval architect and an engineer of the United States Navy. He served during World War I as Chief Constructor of the Navy, and Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair. Ta ...

and his wife Imogene Morris Taylor. * Green Springs, a late 18th-century house built by the Morris family near the springs that lent their name to the district. * Hawkwood, an

villa designed by prominent New York architect

Alexander Jackson Davis Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892), was an American architect, known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Education Davis was born in New York City and studied at ...

for Richard Overton Morris, completed in 1855, gutted by fire in 1982. * Ionia, a late 18th-century -story frame house, original seat of the Watson family * Westend, a temple-fronted plantation house with extant dependencies, built by the Morris family.

Major historic properties

Major historic properties in the district include: * Barton House is an early 19th-century -story frame house built by the Barton family. * Belle Monte is a

Federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

style two-story house built in the early 18th** century and enlarged in both the 19th and 20th century. (**The Historic American Buildings Survey listed the house built in the 19th century but pulled that data from a National Historic Register Nomination Form filled out in error) There are multiple historic references to the original builder of the house and family being born at the residence prior to the 1790s as well as land transfers predating the 1780s and a reference to Belle Monte in a letter from Thomas Jefferson. Lafayette stayed at and used the house as a recuperative hospital for his soldiers. There is definite precedence that places the original structure in the early to mid-1700s. Belle Monte is in close proximity to Boswell's Tavern and built in the same era. * Berea Baptist Church is an 1857 Gothic Revival church established in 1795. * Bracketts is a two-story frame house built about 1800. * Corduroy is a ''circa'' 1850 two-story frame house with a hipped roof and a single-story entrance portico. * Eastern View is a two-story frame house with a hipped roof and Moorish-style porches, built in 1856. * Galway is a two-story frame house with a hipped roof and a balustraded Tuscan porch. Its eaves feature a scalloped cornice. * Kenmuir is a -story frame house built about 1855. The house shows Gothic Revival influence with its lancet windows in the gables. * Oakleigh is a two-story late 19th century frame house with a bracketed cornice and a full-width veranda on the front featuring sawn detailing. * Prospect Hill is an 18th-century house that was progressively enlarged in the 19th and 20th centuries. The two-story frame house features a two-level porch on two sides, along with dependent structures. * Quaker Hill is a small one-story frame house dating to ''circa'' 1820. * St. John's Chapel located at the intersection of Route 640 (East Jack Jouett Road) and Route 617 (East Green Springs Road) in Louisa County. The chapel was completed in 1888. * Sylvania was built in 1746 by the Morris family. The two-story frame house has a hipped roof with a cross gable, with wings to either side and an ell to the rear. Sylvania was extensively damaged by a tornado on October 13, 2011, which blew the roof off the house. * Westlands is an Italianate two-story brick house, built around 1856.

Other properties

Other historic properties include: * Ashleigh is a 1900 frame house of two stories with a large veranda. * Aspen Hill is a two-story late-19th century frame house with a lancet gable window. * Fair Oaks is a two-story frame house built about 1900 with an Ionic Classical Revival veranda. * Green "K" Acres (Oakleigh) is a late 19th-century two-story frame house with a veranda. * Hard Bargain is a Stick Style two-story frame house with an irregular plan and a veranda. * Hill House is a 1918 two-story frame house. * Midloch is a ''circa'' 1900 two-story frame house with paneled chimneys and a large veranda. * Mill View is a -story frame house dating to the late 18th century, with a two-story addition. * Peers House is an 1857 two-story frame house with a hipped roof and a cross gable. A second Peers House was built in the late 19th century with sawn ornament on its two-story porch. * Sunny Banks is an 1888 two-story Queen Anne Victorian frame house featuring foundation to roof front bay windows. * Sunny View was built about 1900. It is a two-story frame house with a large veranda. The district also includes the village of Poindexter at the intersection of Virginia Routes 613 and 640.

Status

On May 30, 1974, the district was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. On December 12, 1977, the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

agreed to accept preservation

easement An easement is a nonpossessory right to use and/or enter onto the real property of another without possessing it. It is "best typified in the right of way which one landowner, A, may enjoy over the land of another, B". An easement is a propert ...

s for nearly half of the in the district. These allow the NPS to own development rights to the land, and to ensure its continuing rural and agricultural nature. The district is an affiliated area of

Shenandoah National Park Shenandoah National Park (often ) is an American national park that encompasses part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The park is long and narrow, with the Shenandoah River and its broad valley to the west, and the ...

. The National Park Service does not provide any facilities in the district.

References

* ''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''. Washington:

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the man ...

External links

* Official NPS website
Green Springs

Green Springs Historic District
NHL information
Barton House, Near Route 15, Boswells Tavern vicinity, Louisa, VA
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS)
Ashleigh (Main House), Route 22 vicinity, Gordonsville vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Beau Allyn, Route 22 vicinity, Gordonsville, Orange County, VA
at HABS
Belle Monte (Main House), Route 22 vicinity, Gordonsville vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Bracketts Farm (Main House), Routes 638 & 640 vicinity, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
East View, Near Route 613, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Ferncliff Farm, Tenant House, Route 613 & South Anna Bridge vicinity, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA
at HABS
Galway, Near Routes 22 & 636, Gordonsville, Orange County, VA
at HABS
Glen Burnie (Main House), Route 613, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA
at HABS
Green "K" Acres, Route 617, Gordonsville vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Hard Bargain (Main House), Near Routes 695, 636 & 613 vicinity, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Kenmuir (Main House), Route 613, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Mill View (Main House), Near Route 613, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Mill View, Barns, Route 613 vicinity, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA
at HABS
Mill View, Ice House, Route 613 vicinity, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA
at HABS
Misty Meadows, Near Routes 613 & 607 Intersection, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA
at HABS
Prospect Hill (Main House), Near Routes 613 & 607 Intersection, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Quaker Hill (Main House), Route 613, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Quaker Hill, Barn & Shed, Route 613, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA
at HABS
Sunny Banks (Main House), Near Route 640, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Sunny Banks, Barn No. 1, Near Route 640, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA
at HABS
Sunny Banks, Barn No. 2, Near Route 640, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA
at HABS {{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Federal architecture in Virginia Italianate architecture in Virginia Geography of Louisa County, Virginia National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Protected areas established in 1974 National Register of Historic Places in Louisa County, Virginia Houses in Louisa County, Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia