{"nrhp_refnum":"09000613","name":"Liberty Hall","other_names":["009-0013"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"12000 E. Lynchburg Salem Turnpike","address_restricted":false,"city":"Forest","county":"Bedford (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.30618928700005,"lon":-79.31348576799996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-08-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Federal-style, two-story brick dwelling with a circa 1815 brick dependency, on a 5.22-acre parcel at Forest (New London area), Bedford County, Virginia. Dr. John Thomas Wyatt Read built the brick house in front of an earlier 1778 frame house.","why_significant":"The nomination argues Liberty Hall is among the best examples of Federal-style architecture in the region, with the hallmarks of the style and period construction practices. It is compared with Locust Level, Sandusky and the Crowe House. The property also figures in local history, including the 1864 Hunter's Raid, when the house was spared from burning.","narrative":"Liberty Hall is a two-story, five-bay Federal-style brick house near New London in Bedford County, Virginia, built around 1815 for Dr. John Thomas Wyatt Read and his wife Elizabeth Alexander Read. It replaced a deteriorated 1778 frame house called Solitary Hall, which Elizabeth's father, Robert Alexander, had built; the brick section was added onto its front. The house has a symmetrical facade, modillion cornice, gauged-brick arches, a carved double-leaf front door, and ornate Federal mantels inside. Its walls are laid in three-course common bond, and a brick kitchen or wash house of the same period stands behind it. The nomination ranks it among the region's best surviving Federal-style houses, comparable to Locust Level and Sandusky. During Hunter's Raid in June 1864, Union troops camped on the grounds, but the house was spared after the owner invited General Hunter to breakfast. The property has remained in the same extended family since the late 1700s.","period_of_significance":"circa 1815","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Early Republic/Federal","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as a single dwelling, with the brick dependency converted to a dwelling in the 1970s; the main house was renovated in 2007-2008.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.67902-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/6797/41679736/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/09000613.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000613/45535473df-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000613/45535473df-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberty_Hall_near_New_London.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberty_Hall_near_New_London.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679736","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Hall_(Forest,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712703"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/bedford/liberty-hall-09000613/"}