{"nrhp_refnum":"06000357","name":"Preston House (Boundary Increase)","other_names":["John Cole House","Johns(t)on House","DHR file# 129-5018"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1936 W. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salem (Independent City)","county":"Salem","state":"VA","lat":37.28950100600008,"lon":-80.09062343699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-05-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, five-bay Federal-style brick I-house with a rear ell at 1936 West Main Street in Salem, Virginia, thought to have been built around 1821-1822. The architect or builder is unknown, and this record amends the acreage of an earlier listing.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an early example of Federal-style architecture and may be the earliest known surviving brick building in Roanoke County. It combines Federal high-style features such as Flemish bond brickwork, gauged jack arches and fine woodwork with a plan and details typical of western Valley of Virginia houses. It is nominated under Criterion C in the area of Architecture.","narrative":"This two-story brick house at 1936 West Main Street in Salem, Virginia, is a five-bay, single-pile I-house with a central passage and a rear ell. Evidence such as power-sawn timbers, tax records and the style of the interior woodwork points to construction in 1821-1822, rather than the eighteenth-century date given by local tradition. The Federal-style features include Flemish bond brickwork, gauged brick jack arches, a corbelled brick cornice and carved mantels with paneled wainscoting. Its exterior end chimneys, plan and rear ell are typical of western Valley of Virginia houses. The house may be the earliest known surviving brick building in Roanoke County. It is listed for its architecture, with a period of significance from about 1821 to 1955. The boundary was revised to 3.305 acres. It adds portions of the flanking lots, which buffer the house from commercial development along the old Wilderness Road, and drops a wooded rear section.","period_of_significance":"c. 1821-1955","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied and in good condition as a single dwelling; flanking vacant lots act as buffers against commercial development. Original secondary buildings are lost.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.391333-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/50/6835/41683550/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/06000357.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000357/29fb14deb9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000357/29fb14deb9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cdenas","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PrestonHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cdenas</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:PrestonHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683550","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_House_(Salem,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16898831"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/salem/preston-house-boundary-increase-06000357/"}