{"nrhp_refnum":"66000835","name":"Scotchtown","other_names":["Patrick Henry House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"10 mi. NW of Ashland on VA 685","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ashland","county":"Hanover County","state":"VA","lat":37.84368990550004,"lon":-77.58550771356899,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1965-12-21","areas_of_significance":["Military","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Scotchtown is a large story-and-a-half frame mansion with a jerkin-head roof, located ten miles northwest of Ashland (Beaver Dam), Hanover County, Virginia. It was the home of Patrick Henry from 1771 to 1777 and is now a museum owned by the Hanover County Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant as the home of Patrick Henry during 1771-1777, the critical years when he helped shape events leading to the Revolution and independence. He left to serve as wartime governor of Virginia. The house is also notable as one of the largest in the colonies and for its authentic restoration.","narrative":"Scotchtown is a 93-by-35-foot frame mansion in Hanover County, Virginia, ten miles northwest of Ashland. Measuring among the largest houses in the American colonies, it has a story-and-a-half frame, a jerkin-head roof, a brick foundation with a full basement of eight rooms and a wine cellar, and two massive chimneys. Patrick Henry lived here from 1771 to 1777, the years when he helped steer Virginia toward Revolution and independence, before leaving to become governor. The house changed after the Taylor family acquired it in 1832, when the chimneys were replaced and interior partitions moved. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities bought the house and 26 acres in 1958, later adding fifteen more. Restoration, guided by Williamsburg-style methods, returned the original chimneys and floor plan by 1962. A Law Office, Ice House, Caretaker's House and well have been reconstructed, and the property operates as a museum.","period_of_significance":"1771-1777","architect_builder":"Restoration supervised by the architectural firm of Macomber and Peters, Washington, D.C.","architectural_style":"Colonial frame house with an early Jerkin-head type roof","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities since 1958; house almost completely restored, outbuildings reconstructed, and operated as an historic house museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.53243-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/6790/41679055/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/66000835_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000835/93bb259185-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000835/93bb259185-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scotchtown_(Hanover_County,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scotchtown_(Hanover_County,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679055","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotchtown_(plantation)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7435561"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/hanover-county/scotchtown-66000835/"}