{"nrhp_refnum":"08000389","name":"Bechelbronn","other_names":["DHR File Number 055-0063"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1223 Rubermont Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Victoria","county":"Lunenburg County","state":"VA","lat":37.07142427200006,"lon":-78.1805149326618,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-05-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Bechelbronn is a rambling two-part brick plantation house on a hilltop at 1223 Rubermont Road near Victoria, Lunenburg County, Virginia, built in 1840 by Dr. William Hartwell Perry. The property includes a Perry family cemetery and about 364 acres of the original 387.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under Criterion C at the local level in Architecture. The house combines a late Federal-style original section with a Greek Revival east wing added around 1851, and a ca. 1900 raising of the western section to two full stories. It documents successive building phases and the county's agricultural development.","narrative":"Bechelbronn is a brick plantation house crowning a broad hill in rural Lunenburg County, Virginia, with about 364 acres remaining of an original 387. Land tax records indicate Dr. William Hartwell Perry, a physician and planter, built it in 1840, despite a local tradition crediting his father around 1835. The original portion is a three-bay, one-and-a-half-story western section with Flemish bond brickwork, penciled mortar joints, wide window openings and high ceilings. A Greek Revival east wing on a daylight basement was most likely added in 1851, and around 1900 the western section was raised to two full stories, with details meant to unify the two parts. Four tall chimneys, gable roofs and a screened porch complete the house. Pastures, fields and woodland still surround it, and the Perry family cemetery lies to the west. The property was recognized for its architecture and its record of evolving building phases from 1840 to 1930.","period_of_significance":"1840-1930","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal; Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a single dwelling, with surrounding agricultural fields, unoccupied land and a cemetery.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.743789-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/19/6817/41681719/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/08000389.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000389/9f30553118-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000389/9f30553118-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bechelbronn_from_Rubermont.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bechelbronn_from_Rubermont.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681719","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechelbronn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712008"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/lunenburg-county/bechelbronn-08000389/"}