{"nrhp_refnum":"06000366","name":"Limestone","other_names":["VDHR File No. 002-0090","Limestone Plantation","VDHR Arch. Site No. 44AB488","Jefferson's Limestone Kiln"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"4401 Limestone Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Keswick","county":"Albemarle County","state":"VA","lat":37.98650418650004,"lon":-78.36006056541524,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-05-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Industry"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Limestone is a 338-acre rural farm property near Keswick in Albemarle County, Virginia, containing two historic dwellings (1794 Robert Sharp House and a c. 1840 main house), outbuildings, a cemetery, a lime kiln and a remnant of the Three Notched Road.","why_significant":"The property is tied to Robert Sharp Senior, who established a limestone quarry and kiln in the 1760s and sold the kiln to Thomas Jefferson in 1771. It also includes a surviving section of the Three Chopt (Three Notched) Road, the main route between Richmond and Staunton. Its buildings show Colonial and Greek Revival-era construction and later alterations.","narrative":"Limestone is a 338-acre farm east of Shadwell, on rolling hills north of the Rivanna River along Limestone Creek in Albemarle County. It holds two historic houses, a corncrib, a garage, a cemetery, a lime kiln and a piece of the old Three Notched Road. The small Robert Sharp House, built in 1794, has a high brick basement, a frame upper floor and mortise-and-tenon joinery. The main house took its present form around 1840, when a two-story central section with a six-column portico joined two earlier wings, one of which was moved to the site. Colonial Revival detailing was added in the 1920s. The property's story begins with Robert Sharp Senior, who settled the land in the early 1760s and established a limestone quarry and kiln. He sold the kiln to Thomas Jefferson in 1771. The farm also lay beside the road that carried westward migration and trade between Richmond and Staunton.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Robert Sharp Senior (kiln and original settlement)","architectural_style":"Colonial, Southern Colonial (Robert Sharp House); Mid 19th Century, Greek Revival (Limestone House)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Currently used as a single dwelling with secondary structures and a cemetery; the property is privately owned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.270158-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/29/6793/41679329/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/06000366.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000366/a47d4569d4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000366/a47d4569d4-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Limestone_fenceline,_Albemarle_County.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Limestone_fenceline,_Albemarle_County.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679329","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limestone_(Keswick,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712705"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/albemarle-county/limestone-06000366/"}