Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/16/1999
NRHP Listing Date 08/05/1999
NRHP Reference Number 99000960
Eltham Manor resides near the town of Bassett in the Blue Ridge foothills. North Carolina architect William Roy Wallace designed the 1936 Georgian Revival mansion for furniture company executive William McKinley Bassett who headed Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc., from 1930 until his death in 1960. Under his leadership, the corporation grew to become the world’s largest wood furniture producer. The Flemish-bond brick house has a graduated three-part form featuring a two-and-a-half-story, five-bay central section with two-story wings projecting from the gable ends, and 12,000 square feet of floor space. Buckingham slate covers all sections. The mansion’s park-like setting encompasses 200 acres and a lake. The manor’s porticoed façade and arcaded hyphens overlook the Smith River, a branch of the Dan and Roanoke rivers.
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: February 26, 2021
