{"nrhp_refnum":"74002137","name":"Hesse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of Cobbs Creek off VA 631","address_restricted":false,"city":"Blakes","county":"Mathews County","state":"VA","lat":37.51401495300007,"lon":-76.36706080752785,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-02-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Hesse is a single-pile Georgian plantation house near Blakes in Mathews County, Virginia, on a bluff overlooking Godfrey Bay and the mouth of the Piankatank River. It probably dates from the second quarter of the eighteenth century.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Hesse as a classic example of Tidewater plantation architecture, especially as found in the Mathews and Gloucester County area. It is also noted as the seat of the Armisteads, a prominent colonial Virginia family connected by marriage to many leading families. Foundations of an earlier house east of the present one could add to knowledge of colonial Virginia architecture.","narrative":"Hesse is a five-bay, two-story brick plantation house in Mathews County, Virginia, set on a bluff about one hundred yards from the Piankatank River with a wide view toward the Chesapeake Bay. Built probably in the second quarter of the eighteenth century, it follows the single-pile plan, with a central passage flanked by one room on each side. Brickwork is laid in English bond below the water table and Flemish bond above. Inside are paneled walls, a three-run stair and a vaulted wine cellar remnant in the basement. The site was long the seat of the Armistead family, who patented land here in 1659 and married into many leading Virginia families. Foundations of an earlier house just east of the present one, once mistaken for a burned section, may offer further evidence about colonial building. The house is a private residence and is being gradually renovated.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Georgian plantation house (Tidewater)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Structurally sound but in need of minor repairs; being gradually renovated, with a private residence use; occupied only sporadically in the 19th and early 20th centuries.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.95597-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/85/6818/41681885/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/74002137.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002137/20ae66f152-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002137/20ae66f152-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hesse_estate_entrance.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hesse_estate_entrance.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681885","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesse_(Blakes,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712525"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/mathews-county/hesse-74002137/"}