Burlington is a classic demonstration of the transmission of sophisticated architectural design to rural buildings through the medium of publication. This stately plantation house, located in Orange County’s Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District, is embellished with Greek-style decorations copied with precision from illustrations in Asher Benjamin’s pattern book The Practical House Carpenter (1830), a work that profoundly influenced American building. It was Benjamin’s handsome plates and straightforward instructions that made the grandeur of Attica accessible to the nation’s nethermost regions. Burlington was constructed in 1851 by master carpenter George H. Stockdon for James Barbour Newman, nephew of Governor James Barbour. Most of the labor was provided by Blacks, both free and enslaved. The fluted Ionic columns, doorway, window frames, mantels, and moldings are all faithfully interpreted Benjamin designs. An exception is the Chinese lattice balcony railing, a detail popularized in the area by Thomas Jefferson. Essentially unchanged, Burlington retains its gentle rural setting.
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