{"nrhp_refnum":"12000543","name":"Riverlawn","other_names":["river Lawn, Cordelia Murray House, VDHR #507-0036"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"134 Williamsdale Ln.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mathews","county":"Mathews County","state":"VA","lat":37.411923029000036,"lon":-76.34119481899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-08-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government","Economics"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Riverlawn is a 2.5-story frame dwelling built in 1874 by Heron Campbell Murray on a 9.7-acre riverfront lot on the East River near Williams Wharf, Mathews County, Virginia.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an unusually intact vernacular expression of Federal and Colonial Revival detail among Victorian-era houses in Mathews County. It reflects the aspirations of two local leaders, Heron Murray and later J.J. Burke, who renovated it in 1929. It also predates many of the county's large vacation homes and has limited later alteration.","narrative":"Riverlawn is a 2.5-story frame house on a secluded 9.7-acre lot overlooking the East River in Mathews County, Virginia. Heron Campbell Murray designed and built it in 1874, and a marble step at the rear entrance is inscribed with his initials and the date. The house has a four-over-four central hall plan, brick piers, corbeled chimneys, weatherboard siding, a dentilled cornice and a two-story front portico. From 1917 to 1931 it was the home of J.J. Burke, a county treasurer, publisher and commissioner, who in 1929 added plumbing, electricity and heating, put on a slate roof, repaired the portico and replaced most windows while leaving the original structure and plan intact. His wife, Clara, made further interior changes in the 1950s. Compared with other houses in the county, it stands out for its symmetry, Federal and Colonial Revival detail, and limited alteration. It is also earlier than many of the county's large vacation homes. A stone well and brick gateposts contribute to the property.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Heron Campbell Murray (designer and builder); 1929 renovations by contractors J.R. Surine and F.M. Cullen for J.J. Burke","architectural_style":"Other: Simplified Federal/Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used as a private residence; the current owners are preserving and restoring it.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.921201-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/6818/41681899/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/12000543.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000543/f183636822-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000543/f183636822-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riverlawn_near_Williams_Wharf.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riverlawn_near_Williams_Wharf.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681899","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverlawn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713139"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/mathews-county/riverlawn-12000543/"}