{"nrhp_refnum":"80004174","name":"Hobson's Choice","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"E of Alberta on VA 606","address_restricted":false,"city":"Alberta","county":"Brunswick County","state":"VA","lat":36.87201655500007,"lon":-77.81626604799999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Science","Politics/Government","Architecture","Agriculture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Hobson's Choice is a brick, one-story, five-part Palladian-style plantation house east of Alberta on Route 606 in Brunswick County, Virginia, built about 1794 for Dr. Richard Feild.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an exceptional vernacular interpretation of the Palladian central-pavilion-with-wings form, which departed from the rectangular Colonial and Early Georgian houses. It retains much original fabric and reflects the prosperity of Brunswick County's tobacco and cotton economy around 1800. It is also tied to Dr. Feild, a prominent physician, scientist, editor and presidential elector.","narrative":"Hobson's Choice is a brick plantation house east of Alberta in Brunswick County, Virginia, built about 1794. It has a one-story, five-part plan: a central pavilion with flanking wings joined by hyphens, a Palladian arrangement that broke from the rectangular houses typical of earlier Virginia. Dr. Richard Feild built it around the time of his marriage to Ann Meade, on land bought from his father-in-law, Andrew Meade. Feild was educated at Edinburgh and known for his knowledge of botany, astronomy and medicine. He edited a Petersburg newspaper and served in electoral colleges that chose Jefferson and Madison. The house was altered in 1860 and again in the twentieth century, yet much original interior fabric survives, along with several outbuildings. The name comes from an English phrase about having no real alternative, perhaps because Feild took the land he was offered. The property is valued as a vernacular Palladian example and as a record of Southside Virginia's prosperity.","period_of_significance":"Ca. 1794","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Georgian / Palladian five-part house","criteria":[],"status_note":"Privately owned; the owner plans to stabilize the structure and maintain it as a private residence. Altered in 1860 by an extension and again in 1947 and 1953, with much original interior fabric remaining.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.57032-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/66/6798/41679866/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/80004174.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004174/6adf218e18-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004174/6adf218e18-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hobson%27s_Choice,_Alberta.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hobson%27s_Choice,_Alberta.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679866","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobson%27s_Choice_(Alberta,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712544"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/brunswick-county/hobsons-choice-80004174/"}