{"nrhp_refnum":"74002232","name":"Belle Air","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N of VA 5","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charles City","county":"Charles City County","state":"VA","lat":37.34715171000005,"lon":-77.0609123450759,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-07-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Belle Air is a William and Mary period vernacular farmhouse near Charles City Court House in Charles City County, Virginia, probably built around the turn of the eighteenth century, with an addition of about 1800.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a rare surviving example of William and Mary period vernacular architecture that shows the shift from seventeenth-century to eighteenth-century Virginia building methods. It keeps rare exposed interior framing and a heavy Jacobean-style closed-string stair. It is also described as the oldest remaining dwelling on historic Route 5, the plantation road linking Williamsburg and Richmond.","narrative":"Belle Air is a farmhouse on a gentle rise near Charles City Court House in Charles City County, Virginia. Its original section followed a typical Virginia plan, with a center passage and a room on either side, and a symmetrical five-bay facade. Around 1800 three bays were added at the west end, which gave the house its present unsymmetrical look. Inside, the corner posts, plates, girts and summer beams are partly exposed and carry chamfers with lamb's tongue terminals. The original stair has heavy turned balusters. The property traces back to Colonel Thomas Stegge II and to David Clarke, whose descendants probably built the present house around the turn of the eighteenth century. Hamlin Willcox acquired it in 1800, and the Willcox family held it until 1945. Each section was restored in the 1950s. The house was listed because it is a rare example of William and Mary period vernacular building that shows the move toward eighteenth-century design, and because it is the oldest remaining dwelling on Route 5.","period_of_significance":"18th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"William and Mary period vernacular","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is stated as excellent/good. It is a private residence and also an historic house museum, restored in the 1950s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.683362-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/10/6800/41680010/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/74002232.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680010","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Air_Plantation","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4883594"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/charles-city-county/belle-air-74002232/"}