The P. D. Gwaltney, Jr., House was built in 1900-1901 for Pembroke Decatur Gwaltney, Jr., who took his family meat business to national prominence with the Smithfield ham before his death in 1936. The elaborately detailed, Queen Anne-style home, located in the Smithfield Historic District in Isle of Wight County, is based on style no. 45 of George F. Barber’s Modern Dwellings: A Book of Practical Designs and Plans for Those Who Wish to Build or Beautify Their Homes. The exterior is clad in wood clapboard and shingles and stands on a granite foundation. It features a corner turret, a wraparound porch, a tile roof, and copper finials on the turret and gazebo. The equally grand interior contains an imposing stair in the front hall, elaborate paneling, and impressive mantels. The P. D. Gwaltney, Jr., House has an exceptionally high degree of integrity, with most of its original fixtures and finishes. Much of the construction was carefully documented in notes kept by Gwaltney that were used by his family to rehabilitate and restore the dwelling.
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