S T A T E : 1 Form !.:-500 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (July 1569) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE V I R G I N I A

COUNTY:

N A T I O N A L REGISTER OF HISTORIC P L A C E S INVENTORY. - NOMINATION FORM

, .

I

1. NAME I C O K M O N : ... -

ESSEX FOR NPS USE ONLY

2 I

(Type all entries - complete applicable sections).

TAPPAHANNOCK HISTORIC DISTRICT A N O f O R H I S T O R I C :

( S T R E E T A N C N U M B E R : I

E N T R Y N U M B E R

See con t inua t ion s h e e t C l T Y O R TOWN:

D A T E

CATEGORY I OWNERSHIP STATUS ACCESSIBLE

(Check One) TO THE PUBLIC - Distr ic t 0 ~ ~ i l d i ~ ~ , Publ ic Public Acquisition: . Occupied Yes:

. .

Site Structure Private In Process Unoccupied a Restricted-

0 Obiect @ Both Being Considered a Unrestricted

Preservation work i n p r o g r e s s 0

P R E S E N T U S E (Check One or More as Rpproprfete:

C Agriculturoi 0 Government 0 Park Transportation Comments

0 Commercioi Industrial Private Reslddnc; Other (Specify)

C Educotionoi 0 Mil i tary Religious town 0 Museum Entertotnrnent Scientific -

Tappahannoc k (William Lloyd S c o t t , Eighth D i s t r i c t Congressman)

I

!4. OWNER OF PROPERTY ~. \ O W N E R . S NAME: I C .I

S T A T E

VIRGINIA

H ; X u l t i p l e ownership

S T R E E T A N 0 N U M B E R : 8 ! Z H

C I T Y O R TOWN: ( S T A T E : I C O D E P

H O U S E . R E G I S T R Y O F D E E D S . E T C :

b. CLASS~FICATZN 5 1

Essex County Court House S T R E E T A N 0 N U M B E R :

I

C O U N T Y . C O D E

ESSm 057

C I T Y O R TD'NN: S T A T E

Tappahannock Vi rg in i a ~, 15, REPRESENTATION IN EXISTLNG SURVEYS

~TIT,E O F S U R V E Y :

H i s t o r i c American Buildings Survey D - T E OF S ~ R V E Y : 1934, 1935 a Federal . 0 State County Loca l D E P O S I T O R Y F O I a U R V E Y R E C O R D S : +-

Lib ra ry of Congress . . S T R E E T A N D N U M B E R : . .

C I T Y OR TOWN: ISTATE: I CODE

Washington D.' C.

17. JES'RIPTION

1 - - I - - [Check One)1 Excellent a G o d Fuir Deteriomted 0 Ruin. 0 UnexposedCONDITION

(Chock On*) I lCh.sk One)1 U( Altered G I 1 , n M O V . ~ ortplno~s t .

D E $ C R l B E 7 - E P R E S E N T A N D O R I G I N A L (ifknown) P H V S l C A L A P P E A R A . I C E L

The Tappahannocli Historic D i s t r i c t i s comprised of the balance of those s t ruc tures i n the block bodnded by Church Lane, Queen S t ree t , Prince S t r e e t and Cross S t r ee t , as well as a number of s t ructures whose l o t s f ront on Prlnce S t r ee t from Church Lane eas t to the Rappahannock; the D i s t r i c t a l s o includes portions of 'Jater Street beginning with i t s in tersect ion a t Prince S t r ee t and para l le l ing the r iver f o r approximately two blocks to the south. The D ~ s t r i c ta l so includes two s t ruc tures in the block of Duke S t r e e t from i t s in tersect ion with Water S t ree t extending one blcck t o the west .

The pr inciple ax is of the D i s t r i c t along Prince S t ree t i s charac-t e rmed by the county government center a t i :~ewest and, by a cormnercial d i s t r i c t a t the center composed of brick and frame shops mostly of recent o r lg in , and by a r e s iden t i a l neighborhood a t the eas t end including an old tavern and a custom's house, both now converted into residences. Water S t r e e t is dominated by large frame houses t h a t have been converted for use by Saint Margaret's School. The broad green sward on which these eight-eenth and nineteenth century buildings a r e s e t extends almost uninterrupted along the e n t i r e s t r e t c h of che school grounds. The br ief portion of the d i s t r i c t along Duke S t r ee t includes both a large Greek Revival house and a picturesque Gothic Revival board and bat ten Episcopal church.

(I)

rn rn

-Z (I)

The following inventory l i s t s the D i s t r i c t ' s more prominent

, { a rch i t ec tu ra l ly and h i s to r i ca l ly s ign i f icax t structures: 1 : 1. Custom's House, 109 Prince Street . Brick with stucco, l&s t o r i e s

with, a loft , , ,gable roof ,. three-bay f r ~ n t ,i n t e r io r chimney, water-tab le , nine-over-nin& sash windows', th'ree-level basement, west

. . ,, entrance porch with,,scalloped bargeboards, two,. s t a ry ~ o r c h .oni eas t r : . . . . . . . _ I . ; _ ._

with sa&work ba1;strade. B u i l t Circa 1750; nineteenth century addi t ions . . .

2. Scot ' s Arms Tavern, 123 Prince S t ree t . Brame with clapboarding,. . gable roof with i n t e r io r end chimney', five-bay f ron t , entrance with th ree- l igh t transom and Colonial Revival entrance porch, f u l l base-ment. Early-nineteenth century; two-bay hipped roof addit ion on e a s t s ide .

3. Five Cents and Dollar Store, 200 Prince Street . Frame with clap-boarding, 2% s t o r i e s , Mansard roof and dormers k i t h Colonial Revi-v a l a rch i t raves , three-bay f ron t , f i r s t f loor score f r cz t . Late-nineteenth century; possibly incorporates an older building.

4 . Ritchie H O U S ~ , 227 Prince Stre&.,:.-: Brick. l a id i n Flemish bond with English bond below the beveled t a t e r eab le on the-west end, 1%s t o r i e gable roof with darmers, five-bay f ron t , T-shaped ex te r io r end

. . chimneys. Early-eighteenth century; ear ly clipped.gables.now f i l l e i n with f r a n k g and two bays added t o the ea s t end of the or ig iua l s t ruc ture .

. SIGNIFICANCE

P E I I O D (Clxsck Onc or More .a A p p r o p r l ~ l c J

P r s - C o l u m b i a n l 16th Century W 18th Century 20th Century

15th Century 17 th Century I 19th Csnlury

-

S P E C I F I C O A T E I S I (11 Applicable nndKnovn)

& R E A S O F S I C N I F I C A N C E (Ch.ck One or More a. Approprl.toJ L

A b e r iginol Educolion - ' -aPoli t leol- ' - - Urbm Plorming

P,shi.,o,is . . ,O Ensl?eerlns Religion/Phi.. 0th.f (S~eclly)

' 0 Historic Indus t ry 1bmphy -- --:. .History . .

0 A g r i ~ ~ I I u f . . ,

I ~ v . ~ ~ o ~ 0 SC;.,,C. a Arshlt.ctur. Landscap. 0 Sculpture

0 A,' Arshlt.ctur. Sociol /Humon0 Comm.rc. 0 Li'.,o'ur. ito,i.,n 0 Communicotlons a M i l l t ~ r y Thsoter

a Con.ervetion Music 0 Tr.nsportation

I T A T E M E N T O F S l O N ! F I C A N C E

Capta in John Smith a t t empted ' a landing a t t h e s i t e of present -day Tappahannock i n 1608, and Bartholomew Hoskins pa tented t h e f i r s t land t h e r e i n 1645. Soon a f t e r t h i s i n i t i a l pa tent2a sma l l v i l l a g e had deve-loped a s a r e s u l t of t h e a r e a ' s f i n e loca t ivn . " Known'-'to h i s t o r i a n s a s "Hobbes H i s Hole," t h e v i l l a g e - h a d , i n f a c t , t h e less -unusual name o f "Hobb's Hold" (meaning land holden under a g r a n t ) o r s o t h e a u t h o r i t i e s i n s i s t .

The v i l l a g e , whether "Hole" o r "Hold", w a s formally cha r t e red as t h e Town of New Plymouth i n 1682. Since t h e r i v e r w a s c a l l e d Rappahannock, s i g n i f y i n g "running water ," t h e p o r t soon took on t h e Ind ian name of "on t h e running water" o r Tappahannock. The i n c r e a s i n g l y prominent por t -f a c i l i t y w a s s e l e c t e d as t h e county s e a t f o r Essex when t h a t county was formed from o l d Rappahannock County i n 1692. .?

Ten y e a r s p r i o r t o t h e American Revolution t h e town witnessed p a t r i o t i c f e r v o r when four hundred men met- in... -T a p p a , h a ~ o c k.. i n the s t a t e ' s s t r o n g e s t popular p r o t e s t a g a i n s t t h e Stamp Act. 6 e co& house of 1728,

, p a r t i a l l y burned d u r i n g a B r i t i s h , , a t t a c b oo,.th$,, tovmi,<lg4',, now se rves as t h e Beale ~ e m o r i a lB a p t i s t Church. P a r t s of t h e e a r l y glazed-header b r i c k work s u r v i v e today i n the church ' s nave.

Among t h e more s i g n i f i c a n t pre-Revolutionary bui ld ings i n Tappahannock a r e t h e ea r ly -e igh teen th century Anderson and Ri tch ie Houses. The former w a s o r i g i n a l l y a "prize house", that is, t h e bu i ld ing wherein t h e "pr iz ing" o r compressing of tobacco i n t o hogsheads took place. As such i t w a s l oca ted ad jacen t t o the owner's p l a n t a t i o n . The Ri tch ie House, once p a r t o f a complex of t h r e e bu i ld ings , main ta ins its prominent p o s i t i o n on P r i n c e S t r e e t . The e a r l y days of t h e Republic a r e represented a r c h i t e c t u r , a l l y by t h e Brockenbrough House, the Sco t ' s Arms Tavern and t h e o ld C le rk ' s Off iae .

The town achieved n a t i o n a l prominence d u r i n g t h e n ine teenth c e n t u r y a s t h e home of th ree of J e f f e r s o n ' s s t aunches t suppor ters . Known a s t h e "Essex Junto" Spencer Roane, Thomas R i t ch ie and John Brockenbrough were cous ins w h o t h x & u t tkir d i v e r s e p ro fes s ions helped the Republican p a r t y ma in ta in i ts t i g h t c o n t r o l of National p o l i t i c s du r ing the f i r s t h a l f o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h century. Judge Spencer Roane, Chief J u s t i c e of t h e Virginlia Supreine Court of Appeals, was a power i n t h e Republican pa r ty . He c o n t r i b u t e d many a r t i c l e s and l e t t e r s - s u i n g v a r i o u s pseudonyms - t o h l s cous in Thomas ~ i t c h i e ' spaper, The Richmond Enquirer . R i t ~ h i e ~ r e c o g n i z e d

TM~,~RBlDLlOGRAPHlCAL REFERENCES

Ammon, Harry. "The Richmond Junto , 1800-1824," Vi rg in i a Magazine of His to ry 4 Biography, 1961 (10/53): pp. 395-418. I

I Showell, V i r g i n i a . Essex Sketches, ~ a l i i m o r e : 1924.

Old Homes o f Essex County. Essex County Womn's Club, e d i t e d and----published by.

10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA L 4 T I T U O E &NO L O N G I T U D E C O O R D I N A T E S L A T I T U D E A N D L O N G I T U D E COORDINATES

O E C l N l N G R E C T A N G L E L O C A T I N G T H E P R O P E R T Y 0 O E P l N l N C T H E C E N T E R P O I N T O F 4 OROPERTV

R O F L E I S T H A N T F N &CRES

L A T l T U D E L O N C l T U D E L A T I T U D E L O N C l T U O E

0.gro.s Monut.~ Seconds D.prsas Monvbs Seconds 0.grm.s M1nut.s k c o n d s D.pr..s M~nu1.s S.conds

37 5 5 . 4 9 . 760 51 , 42 - o

55 ' 49 - 76' 51 . 20 -SE 37 O 55 ' 32 " 76" 51 ' 20 '

I I 11. FORM PREPARED BY

N A M E A h D T T - E

A P P R O X I M A T E A C R E A G E O F N O M l N A T E D PROPERTY 25 a c r e s i L l L T A L L 3 7 A T E S A N D C O U N T I E S F O R P R O P E R T I E S O V E R L A P P I N G S T A T E OR COUNTY B O U N O A R l E l

S T I I E :

S T A T E :

S T A T E :

ul

R i c h m o n d 12. STATE LIAISON OFFICER CERTIFlCAlION I NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION

S T I T E

C O D E-CODE-CODE-

As the designated Sta te Liaison Officer for the Na-

tional Historic Preservst ion Act of 1966 (Public L a w

89-665). 1 hereby nominate th i s property for inclusion

i n the National Register and certify that it has been

evaluated according t o the criteria and procehres s e t

forth by the National Park Service. 1he recommndsd

l eve l of significance of this nomination in: National State Local

Name -Fishburne, Jr.

T i t l e

V i r g i n i a H i s t o r i c Landmarks

., -I-

I VIRGINIA HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION STAFF

I hereby certify that th is property is included in the

National Register.

COUNTY:

COUNTY:

COUNTY:

S T R E E T A N D N U M B E R : 0

z C I T Y O R TOWN. ul

O R G A N I Z A T I O N

VIRGINIA HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION

Chief, Offics of Archeology and Historic Presarvatim

D A T E

1972

. . ' .<< f i rJLA i ,:: ~ 1 . r

Dste

ATTEST(

CODE-COOS -coos 7

Kaspar of The National Register

-Z

ul

-I

\ G P O S O 1 . 0 8 7 . -- . -- . .':. $r. .

. . . .commission.

D a t e Ea t s I

For.., 10.3000 (July 1969)

U N I T E 0 STATES D E P A R T M E N T Gr T H E INTERIOR N A T I O N A L P A R K SCHVICE

N A T I O N A L REGISTER OF t i lSTORlC P L A C E S

INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM ESSEX FOR NPS USE O N L Y

(Continuation Sheet) b

E N T R Y NUUSED

I D A T E

(Nt8mb.r a11 entrle.) -7. 5. Old C l e r k ' s Of f i ce , 307 Princz S t r e e t . Brick l a i d i n Flemish bond, one

s t o r y , gable r o o f , :hree-bay f r o n t wi th c e n t r a l en t r ance , s l i g h t l y pro- j e c t i n g i n t e r i o r end chimneys wi th corbeled caps , q u a r t e r l u n e t t e s i n t h e gable ends. B ~ . i l tcirca 1808; ex tens ive ly renovated.

6. ' Essex County Court House,Prince S t r e e t . Brick, one s t o r y , gable end f r o n t w i t h a pedimented po r t i co using the Doric o rde r i n a d i - s t y l e $ -a n t i s form, c e n t r a l en t rance wi th e l l i p t i c a l f a n l i g h t and t h r e e l i g h t s i d e l i g h t s , square b e l f r y supports octagonal cupola, t r i p l e hung win- dows. Greek Revival . a u i l t i n 1868; renovatad i n 1926 by Alf red I. duPont; r e s to red i n 1967 a f t e r the f i r e of t h e previous year .

7. Debtor ' s P r i s o n , 321 Pr ince S t r e e t . Brick l a i d i n Flemish bond, one s t o r y gable r o o f , three-bay f r o n t , c e n t r a l en t r ance w i t h s tone s i l l . B u i l t circa 1769; a d d i t i o n on t h e r e a r .

8. Beale Memorial B a p t i s t Church (Early Essex County Court House), Church Lane. Flemish bond Lr ick nave wi th glazed headers and beveled water- t a b l e , one s t o r y , gable roo f , round headed windows, c e n t r a l en t r ance tower w i t h open b e l f r y and t r ansep t s . Georgian. Nave b u i l t i n 1728; changes inc lude b r i ck ing- in of arcaded porch f o r smal le r windows and t h e l a t e - n i n e t e e n t h century t r a n s e p t and r e a r add i t ions .

9. Henley House, 314 Water Lane. Frame wi th clapboarding, 1%s t o r i e s , gable roof w i t h dormers, five-bay f r o n t , e x t e r i o r end chimney, t h ree -bay porch w i t h sawnwork, mul t ip l e r e a r p ro jec t ions i n c l u d i t g hip-on- gambrel roofed e l l . B u i l t c i r c a 1718; r e a r e l l a d d i t i o n b u i l t circa 1757; n i n e t e e n t h cen tu ry r e a r add i t ions .

10. Anderton House, 314 Water Lane. Frame wi th clapboarding, 2 s t o r i e s , I gable r o o f , seven-bay f r o n t , wing a d d i t i o n s form H-shaped p lan , mod i l l i o c o r n i c e , wings f e a t u r e pedimented ends wi th demi-octagonal bay window.3, s ix -ove r - s ix and nine-over-nine s a s h windows. B u i l t circa 1750; r n i n e t e e n t h cen tu ry wing add i t ions . I

11. Brockenbrough House, Water Lane. Frame w i t h clapboarding, two s t o r i e s , hipped r o o f , f ive-bay f r o n t , c e n t r a l en t r ance flanked by two p r o j e c t i n g hipped roof p a v i l l i o n s , i n t e r i o r end chimneys, modi l l ion co rn ice , e n t r a n c e porch w i t h sawnwork ba lus t r ade , pedimented v r s t ibuZe on e a s t f r o n t . B u i l t l a t e -a igh teen th century; two s t o r y a d d i t i o n on south end.

12. S t . Margare t ' s H a l l , 444 Uater Lane. Frame w i t h clapboarding, two s t o r i e s , hipped roof w i t h ba lus t raded deck, f ive-bay c e n t r a l block f lanked by s ix-bay wings, modi l l ion co rn ice , Colonia l Revival en t r ance porch, f o u r i n t e r i o r end chimneys. B u i l t l a t e -e igh teen th century ;

n i n e t e e n t h cen tu ry wing add i t iona .

Form iO-MOo UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (July 1969) NATIONAL P A R K S E R V I C E

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM ESSEX FOR NPS USE ONLY

(Cartinuation Sheet) E N I R V NUMBER D A T E

L (Nmb.r .I1 ant,le.) I -7 .

13. Roane-Wright House, 203 Duke S t r e e t . Brick with s tucco, two s t o r i e s , hipped roof wi th four i n t e r i o r end c h i m e y s , modil l ion co rn ice , Doric en t rance porch. Greek Revival. Bu i l t circa 1850.

14. S t . John's Episcopal Church, Duke S t r e e t . Frame with board and ba t t en s i d i n g , one s t o r y , gable roof , c e n t r a l entance tower with modified l a n c e t arched door and qua t re - fo i l window and s l ender s t e e p l e above, modified l a n c e t arched windows. Gothic Revival. B u i l t 1837-49; two-bay a d d i t i o n b u i l t on south end i n 1972.

1 Form 10.MOo UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT O F THE INTERIOR S T A T E (July !969) NATIONAL P A R K SERVICE V I R G I N I A

N A T I O N A L REGISTER O F HISTORIC P L A C E S

INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM ESSEX

FOR NPS USE ONLY

(Continuation Sheet) ENTRYNUMBER DATE

L 1 (Numb., all sntrla*)

Tappahannock H i s t o r i c D i s t r i c t c o n s i s t s of t h a t block bounded by Church Lane, Queen 's S t r e e t , Cross S t r e e t , and Pr ince S t r e e t , as w e l l as t h a t a r e a p a r t i c u l a r l y descr ibed a s having the following boundaries: from a poin t between Pr ince and Queen S t r e e t s on Cross S t r e e t being a t t he r e a r proper ty l i n e of 227 P r ince S t r e e t ; thence e a s t but p a r a l l e l i n g P r ince S t r e e t t o Rappahannock River; thence fol lowing shore l i n e of s a i d r i v e r . t o the southernmost boundary o f S t . Margaret 's School, fol lowing t h a t l i n e west t o i ts i n t e r s e c t i o n wi th Water S t r e e t ; thence nor th on Water S t r e e t t o the p o i n t marking t h e r e a r proper ty l i n e of those l o t s f r o n t i n g on t h e south f r o n t o f Duke S t r e e t ; thence west along s a i d property l i n e t o Cross S t r e e t ; thence n o r t h a long c r o s s S t r e e t t o the beginning point .

Form 10.3000 U N I T E D STATES D E P A R T M E N T OF THE INTERIOR (Jul- 1969) N A T I O N A L P A R K S E R V I C E

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM EGSM FOR NPS USE ONLY

(Continuation Sheet) L

E N T R Y HUMBER

I D A T E

(Numb.. a l l sntrl..)

a s a p ioneer i n the development of modern journalism, was a n e d i t i o r of n a t i o n a l prominence. The t h i r d member of the group was D r . John Brockenbrough, P res iden t of the Bank of Virginia. R i t c h i e ' s family owned the house on Pr ince S t r e e t and the Roane family b u i l t t h e i r residence on Duke S t r e e t .

This compact d i s t r i c t of low-scale s t r u c t u r e s c e n t e r s around the th ree e i g h t e e n t h cen tu ry s t r e e t s of Pr ince , Duke and Water S t r e e t s and conta ins t h e ba lance of those houses and bui ld ings a s soc ia t ed wi th Tappahannock's mari t ime and p o l i t i c a l h i s to ry . The por t town's most convincing case f o r a r c h i t e c t u r a l h i s t o r y occurs i n the c o u r t block where the 1728 and 1848 c o u r t -houses s t a n d toge the r wi th t h e i r subordinate Debtor 's P r i s o n and Cle rk ' s O f f i c e f l ank ing and lending s c a l e t o the newer s t r u c t u r e s . Although t h e i r d a t e s d i f f e r by approximately f o r t y yea r s , t he p r i son and c l e r k ' s o f f i c e e x h i b i t a marked s i m i l a r i t y t h a t has been echoed by o t h e r c o u r t f a c i l i t i e s i n more r e c e n t yea r s . S e t t o the e a s t of the heavi ly c o m e r c i a l i z e d Route 360 (Church I a n e ) , t h e d i s t r i c t boas ts i ts own b r i c k cormnercial a c t i v i t y , tempered by t h e presence o f t r e e - l i n e r e s i d e n t i a l streets and t h e broad Rappahannock nearby.