{"nrhp_refnum":"74002140","name":"Schwartz Tavern","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"111 Tavern St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Blackstone","county":"Nottoway County","state":"VA","lat":37.08182297600007,"lon":-77.99576148399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-06-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ninety-nine-foot-long, three-part tavern building at 111 Tavern Street in Blackstone, Nottoway County, Virginia, with a stone foundation and gable roof with dormers. Its oldest section dates to the late eighteenth century.","why_significant":"It is Blackstone's oldest building and is tied to the town's early history. With most of its original fabric intact, it is an interesting example of an early southside Virginia ordinary. An ordinary license was granted to John Schwartz in 1798, and the crossroads name \"Black and Whites\" led to the town's name.","narrative":"Schwartz Tavern in Blackstone, Virginia, is a rambling ninety-nine-foot-long building made up of three sections set in a north-south line on a stone foundation. The compact middle block came first, followed by a northern addition and, no later than the 1840s, a southern block linked by a hyphen. A demioctagonal room and the west doorway were added around 1900. Inside, Federal-style mantels, beaded siding and early cupboards survive. The building is considered Blackstone's oldest and an interesting example of an early southside ordinary. Local tradition holds that two rival tavern keepers, Mr. White and Mr. Schwartz, operated near a crossroads before the Revolution. A 1790 deed refers to the area, and an ordinary license went to John Schwartz in 1798. The crossroads became known as Black and Whites, and the town that grew there later took the name Blackstone. Deterioration in recent years prompted a preservation effort.","period_of_significance":"18th Century (specific date 1798)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal-style interior trim; early southside ordinary","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as being in fair, altered condition and deteriorated in recent years; the form marks it as unoccupied and notes a movement for its preservation. Two frame outbuildings to the south are deteriorated.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:58.1236-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/6823/41682321/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/74002140.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002140/230e2cb809-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74002140/230e2cb809-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"self","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackstone,_VA_-_Schwartz_Tavern_oblique.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">self</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackstone,_VA_-_Schwartz_Tavern_oblique.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"90002174","name":"Blackstone Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/blackstone-historic-district-90002174/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682321","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwartz_Tavern","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15275712"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/nottoway-county/schwartz-tavern-74002140/"}