{"nrhp_refnum":"06001100","name":"Gunnell, John, House","other_names":["George Coleman House","DHR File No. 029-5525"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"489 Arnon Meadow Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Great Falls","county":"Fairfax (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":39.015403442000036,"lon":-77.28931710199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2006-11-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story vernacular Greek Revival frame house with an English basement at 489 Arnon Meadow Road in Great Falls, Fairfax County, Virginia, built in 1851-52 by planter John Gunnell, with a board-and-batten tool shed over an icehouse.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A for agriculture, since one family held it through four generations until 1946 and it reflects the shift from frontier subsistence to large slave-worked plantations to small family farms. Under Criterion C, it is believed to be the largest and one of the last surviving houses of its kind in the Upper Potomac area of Fairfax County, showing traditional timber-frame building methods and a formal, symmetrical design.","narrative":"Built in 1851-52 by planter John Gunnell, this two-story Greek Revival house at 489 Arnon Meadow Road in Great Falls sits on a high brick English basement. Its timber frame uses pegged mortise-and-tenon joinery under weatherboard siding, with a T-shaped plan, a symmetrical five-bay front, and tall brick chimneys at each of three gable ends. Inside, a dog-leg staircase rises in full detail to the attic, and original paneled doors, heart-of-pine floors and plaster survive. A board-and-batten tool shed stands over a stone icehouse believed to date to the house. The land was bought by Gunnell's father, William Gunnell III, from Bryan Fairfax in 1791, and descendants kept it until 1946. The property is recognized for its agricultural history, which traces the area's move from large plantations worked by enslaved people to smaller family farms, and for its architecture, as one of the last surviving houses of its form and style in Fairfax County. The original 216-acre farm is now reduced to five acres.","period_of_significance":"1851-1946","architect_builder":"Unknown / John Gunnell","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a single dwelling; the house retains most original interior detail, with some changes to the rear porches and kitchen area.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.274288-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/69/6804/41680469/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/06001100.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06001100/c5071edeff-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/06001100/c5071edeff-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JOHN_GUNNELL_HOUSE.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ MD</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:JOHN_GUNNELL_HOUSE.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680469","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gunnell_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712632"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fairfax/gunnell-john-house-06001100/"}