{"nrhp_refnum":"83003274","name":"Tonsler, Benjamin, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"327 6th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlottesville (Independent City)","county":"Charlottesville","state":"VA","lat":38.02825025300007,"lon":-78.49064320199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-08-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Black","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story vernacular house at 327 Sixth Street SW in Charlottesville, Virginia, built between 1875 and 1879 (about 1879) for Benjamin E. Tonsler, combining Italianate, Second Empire and Gothic Revival elements.","why_significant":"It was the home of Benjamin E. Tonsler, a prominent Black educator and longtime principal of Jefferson School, who lived there for 38 years. The reviewer accepted it under Criterion B for its association with him. It is also an unusual vernacular mix of Romantic-era styles and an example of an early African-American dwelling that was enlarged over time.","narrative":"Built between 1875 and 1879 on a lot Benjamin E. Tonsler bought in 1876, this stuccoed house at 327 Sixth Street SW in Charlottesville blends several nineteenth-century styles on a modest scale. A gabled main block with a Gothic Revival wall dormer is paired with a two-story corner tower under a Mansard roof, giving the asymmetrical house Italianate and Second Empire touches. A rear wing and an enclosed side porch were added, and the house already had this form by 1907. Tonsler, a Hampton Institute graduate and friend of Booker T. Washington, served as principal of Jefferson School, the city's first Black public school, from 1895 until his death in 1917. He lived in the house for 38 years, and more than 1,000 people reportedly attended his memorial service. Tonsler Park, a block away, carries his name. The house was listed for its link to him as a leading local educator and as an unusual vernacular design.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Benjamin E. Tonsler (original owner; tax records indicate he built the house)","architectural_style":"Vernacular combination of Italianate, Second Empire and Gothic Revival elements; no identifiable single style","criteria":["B"],"status_note":"Survey of fall 1980 rated the condition as poor and the use as residence; the owner had lived there until a few years earlier.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.647641-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/95/6786/41678695/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/83003274.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003274/c1e0710ef6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003274/c1e0710ef6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Tonsler_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Tonsler_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678695","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Tonsler_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15198416"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/charlottesville/tonsler-benjamin-house-83003274/"}