Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/10/2015
NRHP Listing Date 04/08/2016
NRHP Reference Number 16000166
Dancing Point in Charles City County is important for the landscape and architectural design work commissioned and executed there between 1970 and 1976 for the property’s then owners, Eugene B. Sydnor Jr. and Lucy Harvey Sydnor. Nationally renowned California-based landscape architect Thomas D. Church created a property that emphasized spare design, simple planting schemes, the site’s natural openness, and dramatic views of the land, which forms a point at the confluence of the James and Chickahominy Rivers. Richmond architect Robert W. Steward designed a Postmodern classicist house at Dancing Point, in collaboration with Church. Dancing Point is also significant for its archaeological resources, which include sites associated with prehistoric Native American occupations dating to the Archaic and Woodland periods, as well as Euro-American settlements dating to the 17th and 18th centuries.
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: December 17, 2022
