{"nrhp_refnum":"06000804","name":"Somerset","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2310 Ballsville Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Powhatan","county":"Powhatan County","state":"VA","lat":37.54906534750006,"lon":-78.08793571150994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-09-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Somerset is a one-and-a-half-story frame farmhouse at 2310 Ballsville Road in rural western Powhatan County, Virginia, begun about 1775 and expanded and altered in later phases through the early to mid-nineteenth century.","why_significant":"The house is significant as an architectural resource with a complex, readable construction history, where the framing, foundation and interior finishes record three phases of change. It is also tied to the McLaurine family, who acquired the tract in 1774 and built the house for the widow Elizabeth McLaurine. The family's later ties include the Confederate figure John Singleton Mosby.","narrative":"Somerset is a frame farmhouse on a rural farm in western Powhatan County, Virginia. It probably began around 1775 as a one-story, one-room house with a rear shed and a full brick basement, then grew in two later phases. Today it is a one-and-a-half-story hall-chamber house with a lean-to across the rear, four exterior brick chimneys, a slate roof and beaded weatherboard siding. Inside, Federal-style mantels, two-part architrave trim and wainscot reflect extensive early nineteenth-century remodeling, while the basement, floor framing and roof structure preserve evidence of the earliest building, including a large brick chimney base from an original interior chimney. The land was bought in 1774 by Elizabeth McLaurine, widow of the Rev. Robert McLaurine, and the house was likely built for her and her young family. Her relatives included sons who served in the Revolutionary era, and a grandson was Confederate figure John Singleton Mosby. The property also includes a cemetery and farm outbuildings.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial: Georgian; Early Republic: Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current function listed as single dwelling and cemetery, with the house also marked vacant/not in use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.984217-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/30/6826/41682630/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/06000804.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000804/d895425604-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06000804/d895425604-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Somerset_farmhouse_on_Ballsville_Road.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Somerset_farmhouse_on_Ballsville_Road.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682630","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_(Powhatan,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15278492"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/powhatan-county/somerset-06000804/"}