Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 09/15/1981
NRHP Listing Date 09/16/1982
NRHP Reference Number 82004602
The J.C.M. Merrillat House is a proper mid-19th century Gothic Revival cottage complete with steep gables, scrolled bargeboards, board-and-batten siding, and diamond-pane windows. It is situated against a steep hillside within spacious, picturesquely planted grounds, in the city of Staunton’s Gospel Hill Historic District. Although the Gothic cottage was a popular house type throughout the country, the J.C.M. Merrillat House is one of the few examples of the form in the Staunton area. It was built in 1851 for Dr. Jean Charles Martin Merrillat, a native of Bordeaux, France, who in 1839 was appointed first head of the Department of the Blind at the nearby Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. In 1852 he became administrator for the entire school. During the Civil War, when the school was used as a military hospital, Dr. Merrillat served there as a surgeon.
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: May 5, 2022
