{"nrhp_refnum":"70000814","name":"Vaucluse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of jct. of Rtes. 619 and 657","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bridgetown","county":"Northampton County","state":"VA","lat":37.42387203550004,"lon":-75.97899655526197,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-09-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Vaucluse is a complex, ell-shaped frame and brick house near Bridgetown in Northampton County, Virginia, on the Eastern Shore. The oldest section is thought to date to about 1784 and was built by Littleton Upshur.","why_significant":"The property was the home of the Upshur family from 1768 to 1855 and the birthplace and home of Abel Parker Upshur, who served as Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of State under President John Tyler. The house is also considered an important Eastern Shore landmark whose exterior keeps most of its original style features.","narrative":"Vaucluse is a rambling, ell-shaped house near Bridgetown on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Its main block runs east to west, with a wing extending north. The oldest part, probably the west end between the two chimneys, is clapboarded frame on a Flemish bond foundation with a brick end wall and a gable roof under a modillioned cornice. A one-and-one-half story quarter kitchen with brick ends connects to the main house through a two-story ell. A long two-story columned porch was added on the south. The Upshur family owned the property from 1768 to 1855. Littleton Upshur probably built the brick-ended section about 1784, and his son Abel Parker Upshur presumably added to it in 1829. Abel Upshur, born here, became a Virginia judge, Secretary of the Navy and then Secretary of State, negotiating the Texas annexation treaty before his death in a cannon explosion aboard the U.S.S. Princeton in 1844. The house is regarded as an important Eastern Shore landmark.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Littleton Upshur (brick-ended section, about 1784); Abel Parker Upshur (presumed addition, 1829)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, altered, occupied as a private residence, with preservation work in progress.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.620661-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/6822/41682240/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/70000814.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000814/f462553df6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000814/f462553df6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vaucluse,_State_Route_619,_Bridgetown_vicinity_(Northampton_County,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vaucluse,_State_Route_619,_Bridgetown_vicinity_(Northampton_County,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682240","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaucluse_(Bridgetown,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16902562"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/northampton-county/vaucluse-70000814/"}