{"nrhp_refnum":"07000826","name":"Seay, W.N., House","other_names":["103-5054"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"245 W. 26th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buena Vista (Independent City)","county":"Buena Vista","state":"VA","lat":37.74342993700003,"lon":-79.35320503199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2007-08-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2-story Victorian frame dwelling built in 1889 at 245 West 26th Street in the City of Buena Vista, Virginia, with a c. 1900 garage/utility building on the same small lot.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant under Criterion C for architecture because of its excellent state of preservation and high quality of design and construction. It incorporates spirited Victorian decorative elements, and houses of its type are rare in the area. It was also the home of W.N. Seay, a local businessman and city councilman.","narrative":"Built in 1889 on a small ridge overlooking Buena Vista, Virginia, this two-story weatherboarded Victorian house sits just west of Southern Virginia University. It has a fieldstone foundation, a T-shaped footprint, intersecting gables under a standing seam tin roof, a bracketed cornice, two-story polygonal bays and decorated porches with turned posts and jig-sawn balustrades. Inside, the unaltered plan, plaster walls, pine woodwork with faux graining and original mantels survive. A c. 1900 board-and-batten garage stands nearby. The house was listed for its architecture, given its preservation and the quality of its Victorian detailing, which is rare locally. It was also the home of William N. Seay, who helped found the town, ran a planing mill, furniture store and undertaking business, and served about twenty-two years on the town and city council. Surviving account books from 1907 to 1915 document his business dealings and fraternal memberships.","period_of_significance":"1889-c.1900","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Historic and current function is single dwelling with garage; the form describes excellent integrity of both exterior and interior.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.113141-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/6/6799/41679906/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/07000826.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000826/94f2cbfcbe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/07000826/94f2cbfcbe-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W.N._Seay_House_Nov_12.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:W.N._Seay_House_Nov_12.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679906","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._N._Seay_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713463"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/buena-vista/seay-w-n-house-07000826/"}