{"nrhp_refnum":"69000216","name":"Bowman's Folly","other_names":["Montpelier"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SE of jct. of Rtes. 652 and 13","address_restricted":false,"city":"Accomac","county":"Accomack County","state":"VA","lat":37.695842044000074,"lon":-75.62472594399998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Bowman's Folly, also called Montpelier, is a two-and-a-half story frame and brick plantation house on an artificial mound near Folly Creek in Accomack County, Virginia, built circa 1815 by General John Cropper, Jr.","why_significant":"The house is presented as an excellent example of Eastern Shore provincial architecture used on a grand scale, with a Palladian window, pedimented dormers and fine outbuildings, especially the privy. It is also tied to General John Cropper, Jr., a Revolutionary War officer and Virginia legislator, on land patented by Edmund Bowman in 1664.","narrative":"Bowman's Folly is a plantation house in Accomack County, Virginia, set on an artificial mound that General John Cropper, Jr., had built so the house would look impressive from the house and from the water. Cropper built the present house around 1815 to replace an earlier dwelling that burned. The land was patented by Captain Edmund Bowman in 1664 and passed to Cropper's family through marriage. Cropper was born here in 1755, served under George Washington at the Battle of Brandywine, and sat in the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. The two-and-a-half story gabled main block has Flemish bond brick ends, a frame front with dentil and modillion cornice, a central Palladian window, five pedimented dormers and a porch on slender Doric columns. One-and-a-half story wings, an old kitchen, a dovecote and a finely detailed privy complete the group. It was valued as an exceptional example of Eastern Shore provincial design.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"General John Cropper, Junior (1755-1821)","architectural_style":"Eastern Shore provincial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in fair condition, original site, and unaltered; the occupancy boxes are unclear in the OCR.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.517875-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/6792/41679231/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/69000216.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000216/15a906f273-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000216/15a906f273-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowman%27s_Folly,_Folly_Creek,_Accomac_vicinity_(Accomack_County,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowman%27s_Folly,_Folly_Creek,_Accomac_vicinity_(Accomack_County,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679231","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowman%27s_Folly","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14691885"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/accomack-county/bowmans-folly-69000216/"}