{"nrhp_refnum":"82004669","name":"Massie House","other_names":["Oak Grove"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"US 220","address_restricted":false,"city":"Falling Spring","county":"Alleghany County","state":"VA","lat":37.87677115650007,"lon":-79.92138428150572,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-07-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, double-pile wood-frame house, also known as Oak Grove, in the Falling Spring area of northern Alleghany County, Virginia, built in two phases in 1825-26 for Henry Massie.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it Alleghany County's chief example of the Federal style and probably the area's oldest formal dwelling. Its fanlight entrance carries the builder's initials, and it has fine stair and woodwork. Its rear stair placement and small trapezoidal entry are unusual for Virginia houses of the period.","narrative":"Set in Falling Spring Valley against a backdrop of wooded mountains, this two-story wood-frame house, also called Oak Grove, was built in 1825-26 for Henry Massie, a wealthy planter and one of Alleghany County's first magistrates. It sits on a Flemish bond brick foundation and has beaded weatherboards, pedimented gables with lunettes, and a dentiled cornice. The south entrance has paneled double doors with Chinese and Gothic motifs and a segmental fanlight bearing the initials HM. Inside, the plan is unusual: a small trapezoidal entry, a storage room, and a stair placed in a separate rear room. Federal mantels, wainscoting, built-in cupboards and tiny square closet windows add distinction. The house is regarded as the county's leading Federal-style example and probably its oldest formal dwelling. It is now unoccupied and deteriorating, though the builder's descendants hope to restore it. A grove of 19th-century oaks survives on the front lawn.","period_of_significance":"1825-26","architect_builder":"Builder: Henry Massie (architect unknown)","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"The main house has been unoccupied for several years, is deteriorating, and the family hopes to restore it.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.873835-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/74/6794/41679474/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/82004669.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004669/146811187a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004669/146811187a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Massie_House_driveway,_near_Covington.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Massie_House_driveway,_near_Covington.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679474","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massie_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712800"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/alleghany-county/massie-house-82004669/"}