{"nrhp_refnum":"86003390","name":"Richardson Houses Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"NW side of Richardson Dr. between Coach Rd. and Woodland Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Reidsville","county":"Rockingham County","state":"NC","lat":36.34199315500004,"lon":-79.68269943865133,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-12-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of twenty-two buildings and structures on about thirty acres of land roughly one and one-half miles southwest of the center of Reidsville, Rockingham County, North Carolina. It comprises three principal houses built by the Richardson family, along with domestic and farm-related outbuildings.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is significant as an outstanding example of a plantation complex showing the rise and decline of a family and community over nearly one hundred and fifty years. The houses represent Greek Revival, transitional Greek Revival/Italianate, and Neo-Classical Revival architecture, and the district is linked to the tobacco manufacturing careers of Robert Payne Richardson Sr. and Jr.","narrative":"Near Reidsville, North Carolina, the district consists of three houses built by the Richardson family on about thirty acres, surrounded by outbuildings that together show a working tobacco and grain plantation. The oldest house, a hall-and-parlor Greek Revival dwelling, dates to about 1842 and is probably the oldest building surviving in Reidsville. Robert Payne Richardson Sr., who was twenty-two when it was built, later became a prominent planter, merchant and tobacco manufacturer. A second house, built about 1860, shows transitional Greek Revival and Italianate features. In 1912 his son Robert Payne Richardson Jr. built Belmont, a Neo-Classical Revival residence regarded as one of the finest in the state. The district is significant for its surviving buildings, its landscape and the continuous ownership of one family from the 1840s into the twentieth century. Its history also records the decline of the family's fortunes as farming became less profitable and the land was sold off.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1840-1930","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival, Italianate, Neo-Classical Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Most outbuildings are unused and some are in ruinous condition; farming operations ceased in the early 1970s.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:42.554709-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/57/7183/47718357/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/86003390.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47718357","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson_Houses_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19987804"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/rockingham-county/richardson-houses-historic-district-86003390/"}