{"nrhp_refnum":"01001510","name":"West Cote","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Off VA 602 and VA 626","address_restricted":false,"city":"Howardsville","county":"Albemarle County","state":"VA","lat":37.73513835450004,"lon":-78.6521013862399,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-01-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"West Cote (also called Summer Hill) is a two-story brick plantation house built about 1830 on a hillside overlooking the confluence of the James and Rockfish rivers near Howardsville, Albemarle County, Virginia, with surviving outbuildings.","why_significant":"The house is significant under Criterion C for architecture as a well-preserved, high-style Early Classical Revival dwelling. Its design and craftsmanship are linked to a group of central Virginia houses built by workmen connected to the University of Virginia construction under Thomas Jefferson's designs. Its fine brickwork, two-story Tuscan portico, geometric transom and distinctive interior woodwork are cited.","narrative":"West Cote is a two-story brick plantation house set on a sweeping hillside above the meeting of the James and Rockfish rivers near Howardsville, Virginia. Built about 1830 for William Howard Carter, a descendant of early landholder Allen Howard, it has a five-bay front with a two-story Tuscan portico of paired columns and a fan-patterned transom over the double front door. Inside, a center-passage plan holds a curving stair with delicate foliated brackets and distinctive mantels that resemble those in nearby houses. Its design and brickwork are tied to builders who worked on, or learned from, the University of Virginia project designed by Thomas Jefferson. Surviving outbuildings include an office, smokehouse, corncrib, stable and an unusually large hand-dug brick well about 100 feet deep. Later called Summer Hill, the property was used as a retreat by the Blair family from 1893 to 1948. It was listed for its architectural value.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1830 - 1950","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Republic: Early Classical Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Current functions are listed as single dwelling, with agricultural storage and animal facility uses for outbuildings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.925892-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/6792/41679255/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/01001510.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001510/b93c3bf46a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001510/b93c3bf46a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"WestCote.us","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Cote_in_Howardsville,_Va.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">WestCote.us</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:West_Cote_in_Howardsville,_Va.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"07001236","name":"Southern Albemarle Rural Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/southern-albemarle-rural-historic-district-07001236/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679255","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Cote","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713510"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/albemarle-county/west-cote-01001510/"}