{"nrhp_refnum":"90001823","name":"Mount Airy","other_names":["DHR File #09-221"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of VA 630 and VA 631","address_restricted":false,"city":"Leesville","county":"Bedford (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.10514784150004,"lon":-79.41677314557052,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-12-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Mount Airy is a two-story frame hall-parlor-plan plantation house near Leesville in Bedford County, Virginia, built in the late eighteenth century (probably 1797-1800) by Colonel Thomas Leftwich. The nominated area is about 23 acres and includes the house, a smokehouse and a family cemetery.","why_significant":"The nomination argues significance under Criterion B for its builder, Colonel Thomas Leftwich, a Revolutionary War militia officer, member of the House of Delegates, county justice and sheriff. Under Criterion C, it is an early two-story hall-parlor house in a county of mostly story-and-a-half houses, with notable Federal woodwork and a modillion cornice. It is also one of three similar Leftwich houses with a projecting front wing.","narrative":"Mount Airy is a two-story frame house near Leesville in Bedford County, Virginia, built in the late eighteenth century, probably between 1797 and 1800, by Colonel Thomas Leftwich. It follows a hall-parlor plan, a layout already falling out of favor for houses of its size. Its modillion cornice and the paneled hall are unusually elaborate compared with the simpler woodwork elsewhere. Originally a one-story wing projected from the front, as at two other Leftwich family houses in the county; it was removed about 1955. Around 1910-1912 later owners added a gambrel-roofed rear wing and other additions. Leftwich served as a militia officer in the Revolutionary War, sat in the House of Delegates in 1788 and 1789, and held posts as county justice and sheriff. The house was recognized for this association and for its Federal-style woodwork, at a time when most local houses were smaller vernacular buildings. A smokehouse and family cemetery with Leftwich graves are also part of the property.","period_of_significance":"1797-1823","architect_builder":"Leftwich, Colonel Thomas (builder); architect unknown","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant, not in use; the side porch is described as in poor condition.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:00.452537-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/60/6797/41679760/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/90001823.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001823/6448d8b92c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90001823/6448d8b92c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Airy_near_Leesville.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Airy_near_Leesville.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679760","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Airy_(Leesville,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712902"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/bedford/mount-airy-90001823/"}