{"nrhp_refnum":"70000826","name":"Four Mile Tree","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NE of the jct. of VA 618 and VA 610","address_restricted":false,"city":"Surry","county":"Surry County","state":"VA","lat":37.20081911150004,"lon":-76.85538578524384,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-12-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Four Mile Tree is a one-and-one-half-story brick plantation house on a bluff above the James River, across from Jamestown Island, near Surry in Surry County, Virginia. Its founding dates to the first half of the seventeenth century, and the present house is described as eighteenth century.","why_significant":"The plantation succeeded two of Virginia's earliest plantations, Burrow's Hill and Pace's Paines, and was the seat of the Browne family, a leading Surry family, until 1799. Its grave-site holds what is described as the oldest legible tombstone in Virginia (1650). The house is also cited as an outstanding example of eighteenth-century Virginia building by master builders.","narrative":"Four Mile Tree is a brick plantation house set on a bluff high above the James River, across from Jamestown Island in Surry County. The one-and-one-half-story building has a hip-on-gambrel roof, pedimented dormers and four interior end chimneys. Its brick is laid in Flemish bond above the watertable and English bond below, and was later stuccoed and scored to imitate stone. The oldest interior woodwork, in the central stair hall, dates to the first half of the eighteenth century. The plantation was founded in the first half of the seventeenth century as successor to the early Burrow's Hill and Pace's Paines plantations. It was the seat of the Browne family, who served as county justices, burgesses and militia officers, until the last male heir died in 1799. The grounds include the oldest legible tombstone in Virginia, dated 1650. Its uneven site and informal roofline give the house a picturesque quality, which a noted architectural author praised.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Eighteenth-century Virginia plantation house with later Revival-style alterations","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site, and occupied as a private residence; the stucco has deteriorated and fallen off in places.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.74974-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/6839/41683901/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/70000826.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000826/8ef06f58b5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000826/8ef06f58b5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fmt_main_house.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fmt_main_house.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683901","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Mile_Tree","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5475347"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/surry-county/four-mile-tree-70000826/"}