{"nrhp_refnum":"72001405","name":"Ionia","other_names":["Clover Plains"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"0.1 mi. E of VA 640 and 0.8 mi. N of jct. with VA 613","address_restricted":false,"city":"Trevelians","county":"Louisa County","state":"VA","lat":38.01155358750006,"lon":-78.1459381755879,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Ionia, also called Clover Plains, is an eighteenth-century frame dwelling of one and a half stories in the Green Springs area near Trevelians, Louisa County, Virginia. It was built by Major James Watson and has been enlarged over several later building periods.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it one of the oldest buildings in the Green Springs neighborhood and its best example of the classic Virginia eighteenth-century story-and-a-half house. It was also the original seat of the Watson family, who later built many other houses in Green Springs.","narrative":"Ionia is a frame house of one and a half stories near Trevelians in Louisa County, Virginia. Clapboard walls and a gable roof rest on a mostly Flemish bond brick foundation. Three exterior end chimneys and small six-over-six sash windows with thick eighteenth-century muntins mark the exterior. Inside, oak-grained pine woodwork fills the western hall, including a mantel, paneled dado, closet doors and a built-in corner cupboard. Original outbuildings include a dairy house, kitchen, smokehouse, slave quarters and an early frame barn. Major James Watson built the house, then called Clover Plains, and the family was living there by 1775. It grew from an original block of two south rooms through at least four later building periods. Later owners renamed it Ionia. It is recognized as one of the oldest buildings in the Green Springs area, its best example of the Virginia story-and-a-half house, and the original seat of the Watson family.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":"Major James Watson (builder of Clover Plains)","architectural_style":"Classic Virginia eighteenth-century \"story-and-a-half\" house","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in excellent condition, unaltered, on its original site, occupied, and used as a private residence and for agriculture.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.603812-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/6816/41681695/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/72001405.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001405/ec244f0b83-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001405/ec244f0b83-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Jack Boucher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ionia_(Main_House),_Near_Route_640,_Trevilians_vicinity_(Louisa_County,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jack Boucher</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ionia_(Main_House),_Near_Route_640,_Trevilians_vicinity_(Louisa_County,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"73002036","name":"Green Springs Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/green-springs-historic-district-73002036/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681695","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionia_(Trevilians,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6063605"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/louisa-county/ionia-72001405/"}