{"nrhp_refnum":"83003266","name":"Hardens","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W of Lamptie Hill on VA 5","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lamptie Hill","county":"Charles City County","state":"VA","lat":37.37285617750004,"lon":-77.23362109091289,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Agriculture","Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 554-acre farm on the east bank of the James River near Lamptie Hill, Charles City County, Virginia, with a 1½-story frame vernacular house built about 1845-46 and enlarged about 1849, plus outbuildings.","why_significant":"The tract has been kept as a distinct agricultural unit since a 750-acre patent in 1638 and once served as a quarter of Shirley plantation. The modest house is a typical example of mid-19th century Virginia vernacular architecture. The farm was also used by Union forces during the Civil War, and its undisturbed fields and former sawmill site may hold prehistoric and historic archaeological remains.","narrative":"Hardens is a 554-acre farm on the east bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. Its land was first defined in 1638 as a 750-acre patent, and it has remained a recognizable farming unit for nearly three and a half centuries. In the early 1800s it served as a corn and grain quarter for Shirley plantation. Hill Carter had the present 1½-story frame house built around 1845-46 for his son Lewis Warrington Carter, and an eastern bay was added about 1849. David Walker Haxall of Richmond bought the farm in 1852 and built a sawmill in the woods to supply family milling interests. During the Civil War a Union communications station operated here, and General Philip Sheridan rested at Hardens in 1864. Nearby excavations suggest occupation from the Archaic through Woodland periods, so the fields may hold significant archaeological remains. Outbuildings, an orchard and old trees survive near the house.","period_of_significance":"1600-1699, 1700-1799, 1800-1899 (prehistoric archaeology also checked)","architect_builder":"Unknown (for house); tax records credit Hill Carter with building it","architectural_style":"Virginia vernacular, with Greek Revival-style mantels","criteria":[],"status_note":"Farm remains in agricultural use as woodland and pasture; the house was undergoing extensive rehabilitation at the time of the form, and the former kitchen has been converted to a residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.461501-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/99/6799/41679999/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/83003266.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003266/8607d0c664-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003266/8607d0c664-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hardens_driveway.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hardens_driveway.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679999","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardens","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712476"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/charles-city-county/hardens-83003266/"}