Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 11/05/1968
NRHP Listing Date 10/01/1969
NRHP Reference Number 69000232
The stately Classical Revival Long Branch mansion is one of the few remaining residential works designed—at least in part—by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Latrobe sent plans to Robert Carter Burwell in 1811, several months after Burwell’s builder had begun the foundations. The porticoes—one Doric and one Ionic—were added after 1842 by Hugh Mortimer Nelson when the house was extensively remodeled. The elegant Greek Revival woodwork, also added by Nelson, is based on designs by Minard Lafever published in The Beauties of Modern Architecture (1835). Although remodeled, the house remains, as noted by architectural historian Talbot Hamlin, “an important monument in American architecture.” In 1986 Long Branch, located in the listed Greenway Rural Historic District, was purchased by Baltimore textile executive Harry Z. Isaacs who restored the house and established a foundation which exhibits the place as a museum. The restoration included the construction of the crenelated west wing, a replica of the early east wing.
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: May 11, 2021
