{"nrhp_refnum":"80004206","name":"Stratton Manor","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SE of Cape Charles off VA 642","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cape Charles","county":"Northampton County","state":"VA","lat":37.26265434000007,"lon":-75.98279360180112,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A story-and-a-half, single-pile farmhouse on Old Plantation Creek, southeast of Cape Charles in Northampton County, Virginia, built in the third quarter of the 18th century by Benjamin Stratton. It has a wood-frame core with brick ends and sits on about fifteen acres.","why_significant":"The house is presented as a characteristic example of 18th-century vernacular architecture on Virginia's Eastern Shore, with frame construction, Flemish bond brick ends, gable chevrons, steep-haunched exterior chimneys and paneled chimney walls. It also reflects the dwelling of a rural artisan, since Benjamin Stratton was apparently a chairmaker who farmed land his family had held since 1636.","narrative":"Stratton Manor is a farmhouse beside Old Plantation Creek, southeast of Cape Charles in Northampton County. Built in the third quarter of the 18th century, it is a single-pile, gable-roofed house with a three-bay wood-frame core and brick ends laid in Flemish bond. Chevron patterns in glazed headers show in the gables, and exterior chimneys have steeply sloping haunches. Inside, a central passage holds an open-well stair with turned balusters, and the west parlor has a fully paneled chimney wall. A two-story ell was added early in the 20th century, and the frame walls now carry aluminum siding. Benjamin Stratton, whose family had owned the land since 1636, likely built the house. Records suggest he was a chairmaker, and he may have turned the stair balusters himself. The house is valued as a characteristic Eastern Shore dwelling and as an example of the farm-and-craft estate of a rural artisan. Several 19th-century outbuildings survive, and the open farmland setting has changed little.","period_of_significance":"Third quarter 18th century","architect_builder":"Unknown (built by Benjamin Stratton, probably)","architectural_style":"18th-century Eastern Shore vernacular","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied private residence in excellent condition, with a 20th-century rear ell and aluminum siding over the frame sections; the land is still farmed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:58.064273-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/6822/41682234/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/80004206.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004206/3987abc67d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004206/3987abc67d-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stratton_Manor,_State_Route_642_vicinity,_Cheriton_vicinity_(Northampton_County,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stratton_Manor,_State_Route_642_vicinity,_Cheriton_vicinity_(Northampton_County,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41682234","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratton_Manor","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14692414"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/northampton-county/stratton-manor-80004206/"}