Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/06/2007
NRHP Listing Date 08/08/2007
NRHP Reference Number 07000800
Roseville includes the 1807 main house, a 19th-century kitchen, school building, granary, and office, as well as early-20th-century agricultural buildings, and two cemeteries. The main house was built by John Fox, a prominent farmer, though after his death in 1814 it passed to the Ryland family, who maintained the property and its agriculture for nearly 100 years. The house features a prominent double chimney on one side, and it has a common central-passage interior plan, though two features indicate some architectural experimentation. The non-traditional placement of the stair in a rear room rising along an exterior wall, instead of more typically in the central passage, indicates that the builders were addressing current housing trends, such as the desire for more privacy. Additionally, the asymmetrical façade, unusual for a central-passage house, makes possible a larger room on one side. These unusual characteristics suggest that accommodation to common house forms was made to suit the owners’ needs, presenting a unique example of individual variability. The house and its collection of resources make the Roseville property a valuable illustration of a successful family and the important agricultural heritage of King William County.
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: November 23, 2022
