{"nrhp_refnum":"70000780","name":"Kerr Place","other_names":["Ker`s Place"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NE corner of Crockett Ave. and Market St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Onancock","county":"Accomack County","state":"VA","lat":37.71285672400006,"lon":-75.74697301099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-02-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Kerr Place is a two-story Federal brick mansion at the northeast corner of Crockett Avenue and Market Street in Onancock, Accomack County, Virginia, begun around 1799 by John Shepherd Ker and probably finished by 1806.","why_significant":"The nomination describes it as probably the finest and most elaborate Federal mansion on Virginia's Eastern Shore, with the most elaborate and formal interior trim of any house there. Its similarity to other local Federal houses such as Brownsville and Wharton Place suggests a common, unidentified architect-builder. It also serves as headquarters of the Eastern Shore historical society.","narrative":"Kerr Place is a two-story Federal mansion in Onancock, on Virginia's Eastern Shore. John Shepherd Ker acquired the surrounding land in 1793 and probably began building around 1799, with the house likely complete by his death in 1806. Its brickwork is laid in Flemish bond above the water table and English bond below, with rubbed brick arches over the windows, round pediment windows and a bracketed cornice. Inside, the drawing room has especially fine molded and applied decoration on the cornice and mantel, and the interior survives essentially as built. In 1875 George W. Powell, a merchant and maritime agent, bought the house and added a glassed-in cupola to watch his ships; it later burned. The historical society acquired the house and two acres in 1960 and made it its headquarters. The nomination calls it probably the finest Federal mansion on the Shore and links it to nearby houses by a common but unidentified architect-builder.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Good condition, unaltered, on its original site; used as a museum and headquarters of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.58223-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/6791/41679199/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/70000780.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000780/d5f0ead9fc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000780/d5f0ead9fc-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Joel Bradshaw","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Onancock-Ker-Place.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Joel Bradshaw</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Onancock-Ker-Place.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"92001266","name":"Onancock Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/onancock-historic-district-92001266/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679199","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ker_Place","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14692096"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/accomack-county/kerr-place-70000780/"}