{"nrhp_refnum":"03001441","name":"Cessford","other_names":["VDHR Number 214-0001"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"16546 Courthouse Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Eastville","county":"Northampton County","state":"VA","lat":37.34988571300005,"lon":-75.94805492499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-01-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History","Landscape Architecture","Military"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Cessford is a two-and-a-half-story Federal-style brick house with a later two-story west addition and surviving outbuildings and garden remnants, on five acres at the edge of Eastville, Northampton County, Virginia. It was built c. 1801 and bought by Dr. John Kerr c. 1832.","why_significant":"The nomination argues Cessford is significant under Criterion A for its Civil War role as the 1862-1865 headquarters of Union Brigadier General Henry H. Lockwood, and for the freeing of the Kerr family's enslaved workers there. Under Criterion C it is significant as a well-preserved Federal house of the affluent planter class, retaining original mantels, window and door frames and floors.","narrative":"Cessford is a brick Federal-style house on five acres at the edge of Eastville, on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Built around 1801 and purchased by Dr. John Kerr about 1832, it has five bays laid in Flemish bond, a slate roof with five pedimented dormers, pedimented porches on the north and south, and a wide central hall with a stair rising to the third floor. A two-story brick kitchen wing was added on the west at an undetermined date. A smokehouse, a quarter kitchen, a utility building and traces of a historic garden remain nearby. The property is recognized for its architecture, which keeps original mantels, doorframes, window frames and heart pine floors. It is also noted for its Civil War history. In July 1862, Union Brigadier General Henry H. Lockwood took the house as his headquarters while Union forces occupied the Eastern Shore. During that occupation he posted a notice freeing the Kerr family's enslaved workers. George Kerr returned in 1865 and rebuilt his livelihood.","period_of_significance":"1801-1892","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still a private single-dwelling residence; the outbuildings are described as needing repairs, and the house retains most original fabric despite modern updates.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.91822-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/6822/41682252/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/03001441.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03001441/0822afa0d5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03001441/0822afa0d5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack Boucher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cessford,_U.S._Route_13,_Eastville_vicinity_(Northampton_County,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Boucher</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cessford,_U.S._Route_13,_Eastville_vicinity_(Northampton_County,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682252","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessford_(Eastville,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14691897"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/northampton-county/cessford-03001441/"}