Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 09/17/1997
NRHP Listing Date 11/18/1997
NRHP Reference Number 97001400
The Academy is an excellent example of a small central-passage-plan house of sophisticated Tidewater Federal-style architecture. It and its twin, Chicacoan Cottage, are in the Northumberland County seat’s Heathsville Historic District. They were originally part of the 694-acre tract known as Springfield, owned by John Heath, a founder of Phi Beta Kappa at the College of William and Mary. The Academy is laid in Flemish-bond brick on its façade and west elevation with the less prominent elevations laid in American bond. The façade and north elevations feature a corbelled brick cornice. The one-and-one-half-story, gable-roofed building sits on an English basement. A smokehouse with similarly sophisticated brick construction has survived as part of the complex.
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 17, 2021
