{"nrhp_refnum":"79003047","name":"Four Square","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W. of Smithfield on VA 620","address_restricted":false,"city":"Smithfield","county":"Isle of Wight County","state":"VA","lat":36.965049116000046,"lon":-76.69132580784793,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-07-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Four Square is a plantation complex southeast of Smithfield in rural Isle of Wight County, Virginia. It centers on a two-story frame house built in 1807 by the Woodley family, with eight domestic outbuildings and a variety of farm buildings.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Four Square as an architecturally significant plantation complex. It combines an 1807 frame vernacular house with late Georgian interior detailing and 19th-century outbuildings, including a slave house, double dairy, smokehouses and granaries. It also reflects the agricultural and social history of 19th-century southeastern Virginia, including the Woodley family's wealth and the later fox hunts.","narrative":"Four Square is a plantation complex southeast of Smithfield in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, noted for one of the finest collections of outbuildings in eastern Virginia. The main house, dated by an inscribed brick to December 1807, is a two-story L-shaped frame building with a low hipped roof and a dentil cornice. Inside, late Georgian woodwork is carried out in an exaggerated manner, with recessed-panel wainscoting and oversized fluted pilasters on the mantels. Surrounding it are domestic outbuildings, including a double dairy, smokehouses, an office and a slave house, plus early granaries. The Woodley family, among the wealthiest in the county, held the land from 1693, and Andrew Woodley built most of the present complex. In 1821 the buildings on his tract were valued far above any other property in the county. In the late 19th century the farm became famous for fox hunts led by its owner, Julius O. Thomas.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Frame vernacular house with late Georgian interior detailing","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition and occupied as a private residence and agricultural property.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.146973-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/22/6813/41681322/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/79003047.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003047/184d844ffc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003047/184d844ffc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Ser Amantio di Nicolao","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foursquare,_Isle_of_Wight_County.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ser Amantio di Nicolao</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Foursquare,_Isle_of_Wight_County.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681322","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Square_(Smithfield,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14156598"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/isle-of-wight-county/four-square-79003047/"}