Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 05/18/1982
NRHP Listing Date 08/26/1982
NRHP Reference Number 82004539
The house at Bethel Green built by the contractor Jonathan Brown for James Bumgardner, an Augusta County farmer and distiller, is a document of mid-19th-century architecture and interior decoration, essentially undisturbed since its completion in 1857. Although the basic house is conservative with its straightforward double-pile Georgian plan, such embellishments as its Gothic-style porches, fancy chimney stacks, and Italianate bracketed cornice make Bethel Green a stylish amalgam of contemporary architectural modes. Of exceptional interest is the Victorian interior, especially the parlors, which preserve their original textiles, furniture, and other decorations. The scrolled wallpaper, floral carpeting, and heavy silk curtains well illustrated the rich palette and mixed patterns characteristic of antebellum taste. Bills and receipts for most of the interior decorations survive in the family papers. The Bethel Green property remains in the ownership of Bumgardner’s descendants.
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: August 5, 2021
