Woodbourne is located in rolling Piedmont countryside, approached by a farm road leading into a sheltered creek valley just outside of the courthouse town of Madison in Madison County. The house at Woodbourne is a two-story gable-roofed brick structure built between 1805 and 1814, and it exhibits outstanding construction features on the exterior and interior. Built for Henry Price, the fine Flemish-bond brickwork has been attributed to master mason, William B. Phillips, who worked for Thomas Jefferson and later became involved with the construction of the Madison County Courthouse. Woodbourne also served as residence for Dr. George Nathaniel Thrift. Thrift became involved in an argument with his attorney, James Lawson Kemper, future Virginia governor. A duel was planned, but was stopped when discovered by local authorities. The simple, plain lines of the house, combined with the evident craftsmanship of the builders and the rustic charm of the countryside surrounding it present a beautiful picture of an early, 19th-century Virginia farmhouse. In the 21st century, the Woodbourne property became the home to the Bald Top Brewing Company.
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
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia