{"nrhp_refnum":"80004165","name":"Plain Dealing","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of Keene","address_restricted":false,"city":"Keene","county":"Albemarle County","state":"VA","lat":37.86055520550005,"lon":-78.53158251631805,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-05-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large frame H-shaped dwelling at Plain Dealing, an estate in southern Albemarle County, Virginia, east of Keene. It was built before 1800 and was probably begun by Samuel Dyer soon after 1787.","why_significant":"The house is notable as an example of Piedmont Virginia Federal architecture that combines academic and vernacular traditions. Its elaborate woodwork in the principal rooms of the main section ranks among the most ambitious examples of Late-Georgian paneling in the region. The estate is also associated with Samuel Dyer, Bishop Joseph Wilmer's family, and visits by Robert E. Lee and Theodore Roosevelt.","narrative":"Plain Dealing is a large frame house on a knoll in rolling open country of southern Albemarle County, east of Keene. The H-shaped building has a two-story main block and a parallel story-and-a-half rear wing joined by a two-story hyphen, and it had reached its present form by 1800, when it was first insured. Samuel Dyer, an English-born merchant, miller and planter, almost certainly built the main section after buying land from Thomas Staples in 1787. The name comes from a motto on his store sign. The main parlor has a pedimented chimneypiece with fluted Roman Doric pilasters and arched closet frontispieces, regarded as some of the region's most ambitious Late-Georgian paneling. Later owners included the Wilmer family, who hosted Robert E. Lee and Theodore Roosevelt. The nominated area covers the house, gardens, an altered early kitchen outbuilding and the approach drive.","period_of_significance":"Before 1800","architect_builder":"Samuel Dyer (almost certainly built the two-story main section); Thomas Staples possibly built the smaller section","architectural_style":"Piedmont Virginia Federal; Late-Georgian interior woodwork","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied private residence; condition marked excellent in the resubmitted form; the nominated area was reduced to 11½ acres.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.857885-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/17/6793/41679317/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/80004165.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004165/f390e06cbe-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004165/f390e06cbe-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Frances Benjamin Johnston","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plain_Dealing_near_Keene_Albemarle_County_Virginia_by_Frances_Benjamin_Johnston_1933.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Frances Benjamin Johnston</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plain_Dealing_near_Keene_Albemarle_County_Virginia_by_Frances_Benjamin_Johnston_1933.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"07001236","name":"Southern Albemarle Rural Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/southern-albemarle-rural-historic-district-07001236/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679317","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_Dealing_(Keene,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713070"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/albemarle-county/plain-dealing-80004165/"}