Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/01/1999
NRHP Listing Date 02/04/2000
NRHP Reference Number 00000067
Westview, one of the few surviving brick dwellings in Charlotte County combining both late Federal and Greek Revival features was built between 1831 and 1833 by John Elam. The two-story brick main block is a center-hall, two-story, single-pile dwelling with well-executed mantels, two fine stairs, and paneled doors with most of their original hardware. Its later frame rear additions are also interesting. The estate’s associated buildings and sites (slave houses, tobacco barns, log schoolhouse, smokehouse, milk house, other dependencies, and cemeteries) provide a rare glimpse of life on a plantation during the 19th century. After Elam died in 1847, his widow, Martha, ran the plantation for the next quarter of a century. Their son, John W. Elam, farmed the property until his death in 1916. Tobacco continued to be raised there until the 1980s.
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: March 27, 2020
