{"nrhp_refnum":"83003281","name":"Melrose","other_names":["Melrose Castle"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"N of Casanova on VA 602","address_restricted":false,"city":"Casanova","county":"Fauquier County","state":"VA","lat":38.67420006550006,"lon":-77.70999075115624,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Melrose, also called Melrose Castle, is a Castellated Gothic Revival stone country house north of Casanova on Virginia Route 602 in Fauquier County, Virginia, built between 1856 and 1860 for Dr. James H. Murray and his brother Edward Murray.","why_significant":"The nomination rates it among Virginia's most important examples of the Castellated mode of mid-19th-century Gothic Revival, with battlemented stone walls, a central octagonal tower and a dramatic setting. It reflects the influence of Romanticism and Sir Walter Scott's Medievalism on Southern landed families. It is also linked to literature, through a visit by Mary Roberts Rinehart, and to military history, through Federal troop occupation during the Civil War.","narrative":"Melrose is a castle-like country house of light brown fieldstone north of Casanova in Fauquier County, Virginia. Built between 1856 and 1860 for Dr. James H. Murray and his brother Edward, it follows the Castellated mode of Gothic Revival architecture, with a three-story octagonal tower, corbeled cornices and battlemented parapets. The builder is said to have been George Washington Holtzclaw; the architect is unknown. The name echoes Melrose Abbey in Scotland, where the Murray ancestors lived. The Murrays left during the Civil War, and Federal troops occupied the house in 1862, one of them inscribing a note to the owner inside a closet that survives. Later owners added a large service wing around 1920, and the interior was remodeled with Georgian touches. The property sits in a parklike setting above Turkey Run. The house is also remembered for a visit by author Mary Roberts Rinehart, who was inspired to write The Circular Staircase.","period_of_significance":"1856-60","architect_builder":"George Washington Holtzclaw (builder, said to be); architect not identified","architectural_style":"Castellated mode of mid-19th-century Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as unoccupied and unfurnished, maintained in good condition, and possibly to be sold for institutional use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.725384-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/6806/41680655/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/83003281.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003281/40c2613f3b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83003281/40c2613f3b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MELROSE,_FAUQUIER_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</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:MELROSE,_FAUQUIER_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680655","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melrose_(Casanova,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712829"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fauquier-county/melrose-83003281/"}