Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 10/16/1990
NRHP Listing Date 12/06/1990
NRHP Reference Number 90001824
Airville is endowed with particular architectural quality. The original section is a traditional gambrel-roofed dwelling built perhaps as early as 1747 by the Dixon family. In 1827 the Gloucester County property was bought by Thomas Smith, a highly successful merchant and General Assembly delegate, who had business interests stretching to New York, London, and the West Indies. Smith began building the main, two-story section in 1836. Completed in 1840, four months before his death, the result is a finely-crafted specimen of late Federal architecture. Smith’s brother, who put Airville up for sale, advertised it as a “Dwelling house of ample dimensions, finished in the neatest manner, and of the very best materials. . . fitted up with handsome Marble Mantles, and a circular Staircase of Mahogany.” The estate has an outstanding complex of early outbuildings, including an icehouse and dairy, both with conical roofs.
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: July 29, 2021
