{"nrhp_refnum":"89000366","name":"Stirling","other_names":["Stirling Plantation"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Co. Rt. 607 at I-95","address_restricted":false,"city":"Massaponax","county":"Spotsylvania County","state":"VA","lat":38.18109737650005,"lon":-77.50524450338114,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-05-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Stirling is a farm and plantation house complex near Massaponax in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, built between 1858 and 1860 by John Holladay. It includes a brick dwelling, a log kitchen, a frame smoke house, a family graveyard and archeological sites.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the house is a late, conservative expression of Tidewater Virginia plantation architecture, built just before the Civil War ended that era. It has stayed in the builder's family and keeps nearly all of its original interior decoration, including painted wood graining. The surviving plantation account books from 1849 to 1861 document the materials, costs and workers involved in its construction.","narrative":"Stirling is a farm complex in rural Spotsylvania County, Virginia, centered on a brick plantation house built between 1858 and 1860 for farmer and landowner John Holladay. The two-and-a-half-story, five-bay dwelling combines a Federal and late-Georgian plan with Greek Revival detail, and its design looks a generation older than its date. Nearby stand a log kitchen and a frame smoke house, while a family graveyard and the archeological remains of a weaving house and three slave cabins lie on the grounds. Inside, the first-floor woodwork keeps its original painted graining that imitates different woods. Holladay's own account books from 1849 to 1861 survive and record the lumber, brick, slate and paint purchased, along with the craftsmen hired, including his nephew Tavener Holladay as chief carpenter. Together, the little-altered buildings and this detailed record make Stirling a rare source on Virginia building practice just before the Civil War, which soon brought fighting and refugees to the house.","period_of_significance":"1856-1865","architect_builder":"John Holladay (owner/builder); Tavener W. Holladay (chief carpenter); Frank Combs (mason)","architectural_style":"Federal; Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The dwelling is in use as a single dwelling and the interior is little changed. The old kitchen is unused and deteriorating.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:01.141191-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/24/6837/41683724/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/89000366.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000366/b443351517-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000366/b443351517-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"JERRYE &amp; ROY KLOTZ, M.D.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STIRLING,_MASSAPONAX,_SPOTSYLVANIA_COUNTY,_VA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE &amp;amp; ROY KLOTZ, M.D.</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:STIRLING,_MASSAPONAX,_SPOTSYLVANIA_COUNTY,_VA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683724","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_(Massaponax,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16900714"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/spotsylvania-county/stirling-89000366/"}