{"nrhp_refnum":"07000362","name":"Merrybrook","other_names":["Brookside","Laura Ratcliffe/Hanna House","029-0245 and 44FX0903"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2346 Centreville Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Herndon","county":"Fairfax (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":38.95575799900007,"lon":-77.40832797299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-04-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Military"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Merrybrook (also called Brookside) is an evolved frame farmhouse with a barn, two sheds and a stone-lined cooling well on about one acre along Centreville Road near Herndon, Fairfax County, Virginia. The house was built in stages from circa 1820 to circa 1950.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is architecturally significant as an evolved farmhouse showing Early Republic, Greek Revival and Colonial Revival influences, and as one of the last surviving early-19th-century properties in the area. It is also significant as the home of Civil War heroine Laura Ratcliffe, who lived there from circa 1869 until her death in 1923 and aided Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby.","narrative":"Merrybrook is a frame farmhouse on about one acre along Centreville Road near Herndon, overlooking a small stream that gave it its name. It grew in stages: a one-and-a-half-story section from circa 1820, a Greek Revival log-framed addition from circa 1850, a balloon-framed addition from circa 1880-1890, and a Colonial Revival wing from circa 1950. Early-twentieth-century porches, a circa 1920 four-stall barn with a Louden Machinery Company cupola, two late-nineteenth-century sheds and a stone-lined cooling well complete the farm group. The house is considered one of the last early-nineteenth-century properties left in the area. It is also tied to Laura Ratcliffe, a Civil War heroine who lived here from circa 1869 until 1923. She warned Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby of a Union ambush, passed on information about Union troop movements, and hid men and money for his Rangers. Architecture and her wartime role are the reasons for its recognition.","period_of_significance":"circa 1820 - circa 1950","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Early Republic; Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival; Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Described as well preserved and in residential use as a single dwelling, with a barn, tool shed, storage shed and wellhouse still on the property; a swimming pool was added in the late 20th century.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.95488-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/17/6805/41680517/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000362.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000362/c48b271cbe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000362/c48b271cbe-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Shape Of Air at en.wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merrybrook_Exterior.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Shape Of Air at en.wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merrybrook_Exterior.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680517","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrybrook","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712833"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fairfax/merrybrook-07000362/"}