{"nrhp_refnum":"09000919","name":"Boyd Tavern","other_names":["Old Boyd Tavern","Watson's Ordinary","Shepherd's Inn"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 616","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boyd Tavern","county":"Albemarle County","state":"VA","lat":38.80006812600004,"lon":-78.30957440499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A mid-19th-century (likely c. 1825-1840) vernacular frame tavern and inn on Three Chopt Road (State Route 616) in Boyd Tavern, Albemarle County, Virginia, with a small family cemetery on the 3.11-acre property.","why_significant":"The tavern is locally significant under Criterion A for its long role in commerce and travel along the main Richmond-Charlottesville road, where it also served as a general store and post office. It is significant under Criterion C as a vernacular tavern with early construction features, an uncommon four-room plan and an unusual U-shaped stair. It is tied to visits by Jefferson, Lafayette and Daniel Boone.","narrative":"Boyd Tavern is a three-bay, double-pile frame building on a raised basement beside Three Chopt Road, once the main route between Richmond and Charlottesville in eastern Albemarle County. The present building is thought to date from about 1825 to 1840 and probably replaced an earlier tavern of the mid-1700s built for Col. Charles L. Lewis. It incorporates the earlier foundation and chimneys and was repaired after fires in 1780 and 1868. Over time it operated as Watson's Ordinary, Boyd Tavern and Shepherd's Inn, and also housed a general store and a post office established in 1831. Visitors recorded in its history include Thomas Jefferson, the Marquis de Lafayette and Daniel Boone. The building keeps early framing, a four-room plan and an unusual U-shaped stair. A Shepherd family cemetery lies behind it. The property ceased to serve travelers in 1937, when it became a private home, and it was restored beginning in 1978.","period_of_significance":"c. 1825 to 1937","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid-19th century; Other: Vernacular Tavern","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a single dwelling; converted to a private residence in 1937 and renovated from 1978 onward.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.171619-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/37/6793/41679337/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/09000919.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000919/4c1ca6ecb3-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000919/4c1ca6ecb3-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Skye Marthaler","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Boyd_Tavern_(Albemarle_County,_Virginia).JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Skye Marthaler</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:Old_Boyd_Tavern_(Albemarle_County,_Virginia).JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679337","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyd_Tavern_(Albemarle_County,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712062"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/albemarle-county/boyd-tavern-09000919/"}