{"nrhp_refnum":"04001545","name":"Ferry Plantation House","other_names":["Old Donation Farm","Ferry Farm","Walke","William House","Dhr#134-0011"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4136 Cheswick Ln.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Virginia Beach (Independent City)","county":"Virginia Beach","state":"VA","lat":36.86395527700006,"lon":-76.11788578299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story brick Federal-style house at 4136 Cheswick Lane in Virginia Beach, Virginia, built about 1830 beside the Lynnhaven River from bricks salvaged from an earlier manor house. It is now a museum.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant under Criterion C as a rare, well-preserved example of late Federal architecture in the city of Virginia Beach. It keeps most of its original fabric despite losing nearly all of its historic acreage. It sits on a site tied to a ferry operation dating to 1642 and to the prominent Walke family.","narrative":"Ferry Plantation House is a brick dwelling on the Lynnhaven River in Virginia Beach, built around 1830 for Captain Charles McIntosh by his father, George McIntosh. It was constructed with good bricks salvaged from the earlier Walke manor house, which burned around 1828. A kitchen wing from about 1780 was joined to the new building, and a frame wing was added around 1850. The land has a long history, including a ferry operated from the site as early as 1642 and a county courthouse tract deeded in 1730. Plumbing and electricity arrived in the 1930s, and the porches were rebuilt in the 1950s. After standing empty from 1987 to 1996, the house was stabilized and restored, and it now serves as a museum. The nomination highlights it as the best-preserved brick Federal-style home in the city, retaining much original woodwork, shutters and roof framing, though modern houses now surround the small remaining property.","period_of_significance":"1780-1954","architect_builder":"George McIntosh","architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Operated as a museum; the house sat vacant from 1987 to 1996 before restoration.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.376295-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/79/6839/41683979/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/04001545.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001545/ab8f52cfb3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04001545/ab8f52cfb3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Rlevse","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FerryPlantationHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Rlevse</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:FerryPlantationHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683979","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferry_Plantation_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5445496"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/virginia-beach/ferry-plantation-house-04001545/"}