Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 06/08/2006
NRHP Listing Date 09/06/2006
NRHP Reference Number 06000804
A substantial frame dwelling of complex history and form located in rural western Powhatan County, Somerset appears to have begun as a one-story, three-bay, one-room house with an integral shed at the rear, a full basement, and an internal chimney. It was likely built circa 1775, then extended in the late 18th to early 19th centuries, and altered very thoroughly in the early to mid-19th century. Somerset is significant as an 18th-century house containing important architectural information about domestic life in the Powhatan region in the 18th and 19th centuries, and demonstrates how houses were altered over time to suit changing mores and standards. The house has been carefully restored since 1984. Although the property’s historic outbuildings were demolished in the mid-20th century, a surviving 18th-century stone well, located a few yards to the east of the house, was still used as late as 1985.
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 22, 2021
