{"nrhp_refnum":"89001918","name":"Wheatland","other_names":["DHL File No. 28-44"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"VA 638 between US 17 and the Rappahanock River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Loretto","county":"Essex County","state":"VA","lat":38.08573850900004,"lon":-77.03843271573665,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-12-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Wheatland is a mid-nineteenth-century plantation on the south bank of the Rappahannock River near Loretto, Essex County, Virginia. It centers on a two-story frame Greek Revival house built between 1849 and 1851 for John Saunders, plus outbuildings and a working river wharf.","why_significant":"The nomination argues for significance under Criterion A for commerce and transportation, because the Saunders family wharf was a regular steamboat stop for passengers and freight until 1937. Under Criterion C it is a well-preserved Greek Revival plantation house with some Italianate details. It appears to be the only Rappahannock River plantation that still has its wharf.","narrative":"Wheatland is a plantation of roughly 350 acres on the Rappahannock River in Essex County, Virginia. Its main house, a two-story, five-bay frame building with a raised brick basement and hipped roof, was built between 1849 and 1851 for John Saunders, a merchant and planter. Greek Revival massing and two-story pedimented porches are combined with Italianate details such as jig-sawn balustrades. A kitchen wing, a smokehouse and a kitchen later converted to a garage survive nearby. Close to the river stands a frame wharf, mostly dating from 1916, built on the site of an earlier landing. Steamboats carried passengers and freight between Fredericksburg, Tidewater Virginia and Baltimore from the mid-1800s until 1937, and the Saunders wharf was a regular stop. The wharf's trade helped the property survive the years after the Civil War. The property was listed for its role in river commerce and transportation and as a well-preserved Greek Revival plantation. It appears to be the only plantation on the river that still has its wharf.","period_of_significance":"1849-1989","architect_builder":"Unknown (built for John Saunders)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a single dwelling with secondary structures; the wharf is described as still functioning and the surroundings as largely unaltered and under cultivation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.202463-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/59/6804/41680459/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/89001918.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001918/2326063c57-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001918/2326063c57-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wheatland_entrance_in_Essex_County.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wheatland_entrance_in_Essex_County.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100005837","name":"Occupacia-Rappahannock Rural Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/occupacia-rappahannock-rural-historic-district-100005837/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680459","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatland_(Loretto,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713523"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/essex-county/wheatland-89001918/"}