{"nrhp_refnum":"09000415","name":"Idlewild","other_names":["Downman House"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"1501 Gateway Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fredericksburg","county":"Fredericksburg","state":"VA","lat":38.290797336000026,"lon":-77.50535628599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-06-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Idlewild is the ruin of a Gothic Revival brick dwelling built in 1859 by builder James Tongue on a hilltop in Fredericksburg, Virginia, along with three brick outbuildings and a pet cemetery.","why_significant":"The property is locally significant under Criterion A in the area of military history for its role in the 1863 Chancellorsville campaign. Troops fought around the house on May 4, 1863, and Confederate General Robert E. Lee used it as his headquarters on May 4-5. It is also noted as the last surviving Civil War dwelling on the high ground west of Fredericksburg.","narrative":"Idlewild is a brick Gothic Revival house on a hilltop in Fredericksburg, Virginia, now surviving as a fire-damaged ruin. Builder James Tongue constructed it in 1859 for William Yates Downman and his wife Mary, at the center of a 222-acre farm worked by enslaved people. A fire in April 2003 destroyed most of the interior and the slate roof, but the thick brick walls, chimneys, English basement and much of the wraparound veranda remain, and the walls are braced with steel. Three brick outbuildings, likely a servants' quarters, smokehouse and dairy, stand behind the house, along with a family pet cemetery. The property matters chiefly for the Civil War. During the Chancellorsville campaign on May 4, 1863, Union troops held the ground around the house and Confederate forces swept past it. That evening General Robert E. Lee made it his headquarters. Vacant since 1989, it is the last surviving Civil War dwelling on the high ground west of the city.","period_of_significance":"1859-1865","architect_builder":"Tongue, James (builder)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"The house was gutted by fire in April 2003 and is vacant and braced with steel beams and wood supports in anticipation of restoration; the three brick outbuildings were not damaged by the fire.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.21773-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/6808/41680873/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/09000415.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000415/22b3677cfe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000415/22b3677cfe-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IDLEWILD_FREDERICKSBURG,_VA.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:IDLEWILD_FREDERICKSBURG,_VA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680873","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idlewild_(Fredericksburg,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15227920"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fredericksburg/idlewild-09000415/"}