Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 04/06/1971
NRHP Listing Date 09/22/1971
DHR's Virginia Board of Historic Resources easement
NRHP Reference Number 71001104
Lowland Cottage stands on land included in a 1642 grant to Thomas Curtis. Robert Bristow, Curtis’s son-in-law, became the owner ca. 1665, making it his “home plantation.” Bristow, a prosperous merchant, maintained a wharf and storehouse here, both despoiled by Nathaniel Bacon’s rebels in 1676. Bristow moved to England after the rebellion, and for the next 112 years his Virginia property was managed for him and his heirs by a series of resident agents. Circumstance suggests that the house was built by Bristow ca. 1670 but the actual date is not known. In its original form, with a center chimney, rear staircase, and exposed ceiling joists, the house was a late-17th-century vernacular type. The chimney was removed in the 19th century and replaced with end chimneys and a smaller center stack. The Gloucester County property likely contains archaeological sites associated with 17th-century Tidewater commerce.
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 21, 2021
