Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/01/2004
NRHP Listing Date 03/10/2005
NRHP Reference Number 05000135
The 78-plus acres that make up the Ramsay property are located in the picturesque Greenwood-Afton Rural Historic District in western Albemarle County. William H. Langhorne was responsible for the construction of the Classical Revival-style, two-story frame main house around 1900. The north elevation of the house faces the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the east elevation overlooks the beautiful boxwood garden laid out during the 1930s. In 1937, 1947, and again in the 1950s, Charlottesville architect Milton L. Grigg sympathetically remodeled the house. Grigg removed the original porticos and built a full-height, three-bay porch with a modillion cornice, topped by a balustrade, on both the front and rear elevations. In addition to the house, there are 15 other contributing resources on the property. Associated with the locally prominent Langhorne and Gibson families, Ramsay was the retirement home of “Gibson Girl” Irene Langhorne Gibson.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: January 30, 2023
