Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/16/2004
NRHP Listing Date 08/12/2004
NRHP Reference Number 04000843
William D. Haden built Pleasant Grove just west of the town of Palmyra in 1854. His family first settled in Fluvanna County in the 1760s and Pleasant Grove was home to succeeding generations. Haden constructed the two-story brick house when the Greek Revival was in full swing in Virginia, but the imposing structure is unusually conservative in its architectural detailing and seems to mimic the building practices of at least a quarter century before. These features include a mousetooth cornice, architrave moldings, and a delicate stair with paneled spandrel. The outdoor kitchen with its robust chimney and worn siding, albeit much patched through the years, is a picturesque specimen, all the more so thanks to a simple delicate colonnade connecting it to the main house. A simple frame smokehouse is the only other outbuilding. The Haden family cemetery is also located there.
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: June 15, 2021
