{"nrhp_refnum":"71001041","name":"Glasgow, Ellen, House","other_names":["Branch-Glascow House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1 W. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.54292246250006,"lon":-77.4447966189926,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-11-11","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1971-11-11","areas_of_significance":["Literature","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story stucco-over-brick Greek Revival townhouse at 1 West Main Street in Richmond, Virginia, built in 1841 by tobacconist David M. Branch. It later became the home of novelist Ellen Glasgow.","why_significant":"The house is a well-preserved example of a detached Greek Revival Richmond townhouse with notable interior detail. It is also significant as the home where author Ellen Glasgow lived and wrote most of her work, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.","narrative":"Built in 1841 by tobacconist David M. Branch, this Greek Revival townhouse at 1 West Main Street in Richmond is two stories over a full basement, finished in lightly scored stucco over brick. A Doric portico with fluted columns, granite steps and a cast iron fence mark the front. Inside, the front hall has a bold double band frieze, a mahogany stair rail with a snail-like volute, carved door pilasters with Tower of the Winds capitals, and ornate ceiling medallions. Isaac Davenport, an early Richmond paper-mill industrialist, bought the house in 1846, and his family held it until 1887. Frances T. Glasgow then purchased it. Her daughter, novelist Ellen Glasgow, inherited it in 1916 and wrote most of her work here, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning In This Our Life. Her second-floor study keeps English wallpaper she valued enough to protect in her will. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities acquired the house in 1947 as a landmark to her.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1841)","architect_builder":"David M. Branch (builder, tobacconist)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and leased for office space by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities' William Byrd Branch.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.891948-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/6830/41683097/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/71001041.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71001041/37181123c9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71001041/37181123c9-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellen_Glasgow_House_(Richmond,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellen_Glasgow_House_(Richmond,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683097","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Glasgow_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5364851"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/glasgow-ellen-house-71001041/"}