{"nrhp_refnum":"83003259","name":"Middlebrook Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. VA 252 and 876","address_restricted":false,"city":"Middlebrook","county":"Augusta County","state":"VA","lat":38.05206674850007,"lon":-79.21455596324803,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Black","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A rural village historic district at the junction of state routes 252 and 876 in Middlebrook, Augusta County, Virginia, ten miles southwest of Staunton. It was platted in 1799 and includes about 58 structures plus archaeological sites.","why_significant":"The nomination argues Middlebrook is one of the oldest and best-preserved rural villages in Augusta County, with 19th-century vernacular architecture still arranged on its original plat. Its decline after 1900 left little new building. Archaeological sites document commercial and industrial activity and a black community that developed at the west end of the village after emancipation.","narrative":"Middlebrook is a small village in the Valley of Virginia, ten miles southwest of Staunton, platted in 1799 along the road to Lexington. The road became a turnpike by 1851, and the village grew into the largest in Augusta County by 1882, with 274 residents. Two rows of closely spaced log and frame houses, brick \"I\"-houses, stores, churches and an Odd Fellows Hall still line the main street much as they did in the 1880s. When the Valley Turnpike and railroads favored neighboring Greenville, Middlebrook declined, and little was built or remodeled afterward. That preserved the original lot pattern and its vernacular buildings. The district also contains archaeological sites of shops, factories, tanyards and homes. Among them are the remains of a black community that developed on the west side of town in the late 19th century, which could show how life changed after emancipation. A 1925 garage and two early 20th-century school buildings add later layers.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799, 1800-1899 (boxes checked for these centuries; 1900- not marked)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Local vernacular architecture: log hall/parlor cabins and \"I\"-houses, with Eastlake porches and neocolonial and bungalow elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as largely unaltered, with little building activity in the 20th century. Only the Baptist church of the two surviving historic churches is still in use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.352206-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/6796/41679661/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/83003259.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003259/99df3549b0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003259/99df3549b0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Famartin","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2016-05-27_17_57_12_View_north_along_Virginia_State_Route_252_(Middlebrook_Village_Road)_near_Virginia_State_Secondary_Route_670_(Cherry_Grove_Road)_in_Middlebrook,_Augusta_County,_Virginia.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Famartin</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:2016-05-27_17_57_12_View_north_along_Virginia_State_Route_252_(Middlebrook_Village_Road)_near_Virginia_State_Secondary_Route_670_(Cherry_Grove_Road)_in_Middlebrook,_Augusta_County,_Virginia.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679661","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlebrook_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712837"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/augusta-county/middlebrook-historic-district-83003259/"}