Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 07/07/1970
NRHP Listing Date 09/15/1970
DHR's Virginia Board of Historic Resources easement
NRHP Reference Number 70000798
Named for a high rock bluff nearby, Rock Castle in Goochland County was patented in 1718 by Charles Fleming. This small but sophisticated manor house on the James River was erected in the third decade of the 18th century for the patentee’s son Tarleton Fleming. Rock Castle was raided in 1781 by the Fleming family’s distant British cousin, Col. Banastre Tarleton, who was attempting to capture Governor Thomas Jefferson and members of the Virginia General Assembly, then meeting in Albemarle County. Later encased in Victorian additions, the house was restored to its original appearance in 1935 when it was moved a few hundred feet to make way for a new house on its site. Even in its new location, Rock Castle is one of the purest examples of traditional 18th-century Virginia architecture in the Piedmont. The first floor of Rock Castle is fully paneled and has a fine Georgian stair.
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: April 28, 2022
