The visually prominent Kite Mansion is the finest example of the mid-20th century Colonial Revival style in the Elkton area in eastern Rockingham County. Deeply set back from U.S. Route 33 by a terraced lawn and framed by evergreen shrubs and trees, the two-story brick Kite Mansion dominates its site. The house is the work of a studied amateur architect, William Edgar Kite, a pharmacist by profession, whose ancestors were among the original settlers in Elkton. The most notable exterior feature of the 1948 Kite Mansion is its two-story portico, reminiscent of the Early Classical Revival style based on Roman precedents, as interpreted by Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia. The Kite Mansion also features intact original interior finishes, including the woodwork, bathrooms and kitchen, as well as period wallpaper throughout the house. However, Kite did not seek to create a pure copy of Jefferson’s work, so he blended the Classical style with 20th-century forms, such as the main block of the house with its flanking attached garages.
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