{"nrhp_refnum":"78003018","name":"Kempsville","other_names":["Dragon Ordinary","Broaddus Homestead"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of Shacklefords on VA 33","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shacklefords","county":"Gloucester County","state":"VA","lat":37.56076635400004,"lon":-76.63809652002512,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Kempsville, also known as Dragon Ordinary, is a story-and-a-half, four-bay brick dwelling near Shacklefords in Gloucester County, Virginia, along Dragon Swamp. It was probably built in the third quarter of the eighteenth century.","why_significant":"The house is notable for its Flemish bond brickwork, T-shaped chimneys and a rare surviving riven clapboard roof covering. Its parlor cupboard dome retains a rare fragment of mid-eighteenth-century block-printed wallpaper. The form lists significance in architecture and decorative arts.","narrative":"Kempsville, popularly called Dragon Ordinary, is a story-and-a-half brick house in the wooded Middle Peninsula of Gloucester County, Virginia, close to where Gloucester, Middlesex, and King and Queen counties meet. It was probably built in the third quarter of the eighteenth century. The walls are laid in Flemish bond with gauged brick arches over the windows, a modillion cornice, four gabled dormers and T-plan chimneys. A later brick wing and a mid-twentieth-century ell were added. Beneath asbestos shingles, the original riven clapboard roof survives, which is a rare feature. The parlor has raised paneling, and its cupboard dome holds a scarce fragment of mid-eighteenth-century block-printed wallpaper with black floral designs. Insurance policies from 1805 and 1815 name William Broaddus and then his widow Elizabeth as owners. Because early county records were destroyed, the builder and exact date cannot be documented. The architecture and decorative features are the reasons it was listed.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition, renovated in the twentieth century, and used as a private residence; the setting remains largely wooded and unchanged.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.320458-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/24/6809/41680924/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/78003018.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003018/50a35c3282-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78003018/50a35c3282-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kempsville_from_33.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kempsville_from_33.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680924","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kempsville_(Shacklefords,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712658"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/gloucester-county/kempsville-78003018/"}