Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 03/19/1997
NRHP Listing Date 12/29/1978
NRHP Reference Number 78000261
Named for a natural spring on this James City County property located west of Williamsburg, Green Spring was patented by 1643 by Governor Sir William Berkeley. He constructed a substantial brick dwelling here in 1645 and developed the property into a manorial estate. During the English Civil War Berkeley resigned his office and withdrew to Green Spring. He became governor again following the Restoration in 1660. The mansion later sustained massive damage during Bacon’s Rebellion in 1675-76, and was largely rebuilt by Berkeley’s widow, Lady Frances Berkeley. Through her marriage to Philip Ludwell, Green Spring passed into the Ludwell family who owned it over the 18th century. Benjamin Henry Latrobe recorded the mansion’s appearance in a 1796 watercolor drawing. William Ludwell Lee subsequently replaced the mansion with a new house which burned in the 19th century. Only the brick shell of a colonial outbuilding remains (pictured above). The Green Spring site is now part of the Colonial National Historical Park.
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: August 29, 2022
