{"nrhp_refnum":"84003522","name":"Morea","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"209-211 Sprigg Lane","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlottesville (Independent City)","county":"Charlottesville","state":"VA","lat":38.039622791000056,"lon":-78.50848444799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-05-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Landscape Architecture","Education","Science","Architecture","Invention"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story brick dwelling built in 1835 on a 2.6-acre tract about a quarter mile northwest of the University of Virginia's original campus in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was designed by its first owner, John Patten Emmet.","why_significant":"The nomination presents Morea as the only surviving dwelling built by one of the university's original Jefferson-approved faculty members. Its design is inventive yet unpretentious, combining traditional Virginia forms with Classical details popularized by Jefferson. Unusual features include a recessed second-story veranda, an interior structural arcade and a semi-detached office wing. It also reflects Emmet's work as a scientist and inventor.","narrative":"Morea is a brick house of two and a half stories, completed in 1835 about a quarter mile northwest of Jefferson's university grounds in Charlottesville. Its first owner, John Patten Emmet, the university's first professor of natural history and a noted inventor, designed it himself. The house follows regional Virginia building habits but adds unusual features: a recessed second-story veranda with a Chinese trellis railing, a three-arched structural arcade in the front room, and a semi-detached office wing. Its detailing echoes Jefferson's university buildings, including Roman Doric columns and architrave trim. Emmet used the original farm for experiments in silk making, horticulture and wine making, and the property takes its name from the Chinese mulberry. The university acquired the house in 1960 for visiting professors, scholars and artists, and the Albemarle Garden Club has kept the grounds as a botanical garden since 1962. Later additions are placed to the rear and one side and leave the original block largely intact.","period_of_significance":"1835","architect_builder":"Designed by John Patten Emmet; actual builder not known","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the University of Virginia since 1960; the grounds have been maintained as a botanical garden by the Albemarle Garden Club since 1962. The form lists the property as occupied, in excellent condition, and used as a private residence and for educational purposes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.83403-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/5/6801/41680105/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/84003522.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003522/e1a5a9bf00-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003522/e1a5a9bf00-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Dsewell","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Morea.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Dsewell</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Morea.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680105","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morea_(Charlottesville,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15256184"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/charlottesville/morea-84003522/"}