{"nrhp_refnum":"75002038","name":"St. Julien","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Fredericksburg between VA 609 and VA 2","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fredericksburg","county":"Spotsylvania County","state":"VA","lat":38.222226361000054,"lon":-77.41519448348268,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-06-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"St. Julien is a small two-story brick Federal-style plantation house south of Fredericksburg in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, built in 1804 for Francis Taliaferro Brooke on land bought in 1796.","why_significant":"It was the home of Francis Taliaferro Brooke, a prominent figure in early republican Virginia politics who became President of the Supreme Court of Appeals. The house has a recessed entry of a type unusual in Virginia and is described as one of the most sophisticated examples of Federal building in the region. Its wooded, isolated setting also conveys plantation life in early-nineteenth-century Spotsylvania County.","narrative":"St. Julien is a small, two-story brick house set in a clearing in wooded Spotsylvania County, near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Built in 1804, it has a five-bay front, Flemish-bond brickwork, sandstone lintels with fluted keystones, and a pedimented recessed portico with a balcony and fanlighted entrance. Inside, carefully detailed mantels, flush wainscoting and a cantilevered walnut stair give a refined interior. A brick ell and several frame outbuildings, including a former law office, survive. The house was the home of Francis Taliaferro Brooke, who practiced law, served in the State Senate, became a judge of the General Court and was later President of the Supreme Court of Appeals. He corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Clay was a frequent visitor. The recessed entry is unusual in Virginia, and the house is regarded as one of the region's most sophisticated Federal buildings. Only two families have owned the property since 1796.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1804)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site, and used as a private residence; the same family has owned it since 1879.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.688817-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/43/6837/41683743/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/75002038.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002038/d7b7a8b552-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002038/d7b7a8b552-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wikipelli","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Julien_(Spotsylvania_County,_Virginia).png\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikipelli</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Julien_(Spotsylvania_County,_Virginia).png"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683743","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Julien_(Spotsylvania_County,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7589417"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/spotsylvania-county/st-julien-75002038/"}