Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 04/20/1994
NRHP Listing Date 07/29/1994
NRHP Reference Number 94000792
A blending of the Georgian and Greek Revival styles, this dwelling, located in the Port Royal Historic District, illustrates the lag in architectural fashion between the urban and rural environments. Riverview was built ca. 1845 by John Bernard Lightfoot, a farmer and lawyer. Lightfoot was active in local affairs, serving as town council secretary, trustee for the Rappahannock Academy, and vestryman of St. Peter’s Church. Port Royal was a target for the Union Army during the Fredericksburg campaign, and on December 4, 1862, Union gunboats fired on the town from the Rappahannock River, damaging Riverview. In 1865, ten days after he shot President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth was found by members of the Lightfoot family and invited to take shelter at Riverview. Booth declined, and was later killed at the nearby Garret Farm. The Lightfoots remained at Riverview into the 1890s. The famed Confederate nurse, Capt. Sally Tompkins, purchased this Caroline County property in 1896.
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: April 23, 2023
