Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 01/18/1972
NRHP Listing Date 05/05/1972
NRHP Reference Number 72001531
Archibald Stuart’s imposing 1791 house, in the city of Staunton’s Newtown Historic District, is one of Virginia’s earliest expressions of the Classical Revival mode, popularized by Thomas Jefferson. Its temple form and two-story portico broke with tradition and followed a format that was to be used for many houses and public buildings in subsequent decades. Stuart, a Virginia legislator and judge, was a close friend of Jefferson, and family tradition has it that Jefferson suggested the design for the Stuart House. That Jefferson was its architect is unlikely, for the naïve interpretation of the classical forms, especially the portico, is inconsistent with Jefferson’s strict adherence to Roman precedent. Contrasting with the somewhat austere exterior is richly carved interior woodwork. On the grounds of the Stuart House are a rare original Chinese lattice gate, and Stuart’s gambrel-roof office. Stuart’s son, Alexander H.H. Stuart, who was born in the house in 1807, was Secretary of the Interior under Millard Fillmore.
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: January 26, 2022
