{"nrhp_refnum":"02001362","name":"Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park","other_names":["Ayers, Rufus A., House","VDHR file no. 101-0002"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"10 W. Street N","address_restricted":false,"city":"Big Stone Gap","county":"Wise County","state":"VA","lat":36.86353550900003,"lon":-82.78020560199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-11-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government","Industry"],"significance_levels":["national","state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story brown sandstone Queen Anne house at 10 West First Street North in Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Virginia, built in 1894-95 for Rufus A. Ayers, with a brick carriage house and an encircling stone wall. It is now a state-owned museum.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under Criterion B for the house's ties to Rufus A. Ayers, a businessman and public figure, and to C. Bascom Slemp, a congressman and national Republican political figure who bought it in 1929. It is also significant under Criterion C for its Queen Anne design and sandstone construction. The property opened as the Southwest Virginia Museum in 1948.","narrative":"Built in 1894-95 on a terrace in the Poplar Hill neighborhood of Big Stone Gap, this Queen Anne house of dark brown quarry-faced sandstone on a limestone basement was first the home of Rufus A. Ayers. A brick carriage house and an original decorative stone wall remain on the grounds. Inside, an L-shaped hall organizes rooms finished in natural red oak, with paneled ceilings, carved door surrounds, a dogleg staircase and several original mantels; two Italian marble mantels were added around 1930. The wraparound veranda and some roof features were lost in the mid-twentieth century. The house is recognized for its architecture and for two owners. Ayers was active in mineral land and railroad dealings in Southwest Virginia. C. Bascom Slemp, who bought the house in 1929, was a congressman and Republican Party organizer who directed Southern patronage during the Harding administration. Virginia acquired the house in 1946, and it opened as a museum in 1948.","period_of_significance":"1895-1952","architect_builder":"Johnson, Charles Ralph, Sr.","architectural_style":"Queen Anne","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Operated as a museum and historical state park owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia since 1946; opened as a museum in 1948.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.406872-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/88/6841/41684188/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/02001362.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001362/024f539fd4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001362/024f539fd4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Blackoffee","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Southwest_VA_Museum_Frontside.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Blackoffee</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:Southwest_VA_Museum_Frontside.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41684188","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Virginia_Museum_Historical_State_Park","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7571374"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/wise-county/southwest-virginia-museum-historical-state-park-02001362/"}