Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 01/15/1995
NRHP Listing Date 03/17/1995
NRHP Reference Number 95000243
The original portion of this substantial frame house was built between 1795 and 1798 by Josiah Ryland, member of one of the area’s landed families. His son, John N. Ryland, substantially enlarged and remodeled the house in the Italianate style in 1859-60, leaving little trace of the former appearance. The remodeling is well documented in Ryland’s letters to his wife. Ryland had a highly diversified farming operation at Farmington, maintaining 900 acres in cultivation. In 1864 Union troops under Gen. Philip Sheridan ransacked the house and made off with livestock and foodstuffs. The property left the Ryland family in 1909 but was purchased by John N. Ryland’s grandson in 1928 and has remained in the family to the present. On the property are several early outbuildings including a weaving house and a rare antebellum Tidewater braced-frame barn. The house underwent extensive restoration in 1993.
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 7, 2018
