{"nrhp_refnum":"02000317","name":"Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation)","other_names":["Barrier Islands Center","VDHR file no. 065-0053","Poor House","Parish of Hungars"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"12402 Lankford Hwy.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Machipongo","county":"Northampton County","state":"VA","lat":37.403852385500045,"lon":-75.90569543746386,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-04-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former county almshouse farm on U.S. Route 13 at Machipongo, Northampton County, Virginia, with three contributing buildings (ca. 1725, ca. 1840 and 1910) and two sheds on a 17.893-acre site.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant under Criterion A for Social History, reflecting the county's and Virginia's care of the indigent in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is also significant under Criterion C because the ca. 1840 main building is a rare surviving simple vernacular Greek Revival institutional dwelling and the complex retains its integrity. The county almshouse farm operated continuously from 1803 to 1952.","narrative":"Along U.S. Route 13 at Machipongo, a cluster of buildings recalls how Northampton County sheltered its poor for nearly 150 years. The almshouse farm operated from 1803 to 1952 and now includes three main buildings on about 18 acres. The largest is a two-and-one-half-story, seven-bay frame building from about 1840, built in simple vernacular Greek Revival style with a slate roof, central cross halls, eight rooms on the first floor and thirteen small guestrooms upstairs. A one-story frame almshouse of 1910 housed African-American residents and contains ten guestrooms and a day room. The oldest building, about 1725, joins a brick section and a frame section and probably predates the almshouse use. Two small sheds also survive. Census records from 1850 to 1900 show residents of both races, ranging from children to the very elderly. The complex was listed for its link to public care of the indigent and for its architecture and well-preserved setting.","period_of_significance":"1725 to 1951","architect_builder":"Architect: W. G. Dondelton; Builder: David A. Dunton","architectural_style":"Mid-Nineteenth Century - Greek Revival; Colonial; Other: No Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as work in progress; the property is owned by a private nonprofit barrier islands heritage center.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.820155-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/50/6822/41682250/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/02000317.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000317/17c054ae41-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000317/17c054ae41-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"James Shelton32","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Northhampton_County_Almshouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">James Shelton32</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:Northhampton_County_Almshouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682250","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almshouse_Farm_at_Machipongo","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14691868"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/northampton-county/almshouse-farm-at-machipongo-additional-documentation-02000317/"}