{"nrhp_refnum":"94000792","name":"Riverview","other_names":["Lightfoot House","VDHR File No. 284-3","See Also:Port Royal Hist"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Water St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Port Royal","county":"Caroline County","state":"VA","lat":38.17091211700006,"lon":-77.18764101499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-07-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Riverview is a two-story frame Greek Revival dwelling on Water Street in Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia, built in 1845-1846 for John Bernard Lightfoot on the bank of the Rappahannock River.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is a simple, late example of Greek Revival architecture, with a strict double-pile plan, beaded clapboard, hip roof and original trim, set in an eighteenth-century tobacco town. It marks the last architectural style in Port Royal before economic decline followed the shift from steamboats to railroads. Damage from Union gunboats and later additions are judged not to undermine its integrity.","narrative":"Riverview is a two-story Greek Revival house overlooking the Rappahannock River in Port Royal, Virginia. John Bernard Lightfoot, a law-educated son of a landowner, built it in 1845-1846 on lots bought from his father. The weatherboarded frame house rises from a brick half basement and has a five-bay facade, hipped roof, paired chimneys, Doric porches and a central passage between two pairs of identical rooms. Interior trim, walnut window panels and Ionic fireplace surrounds reflect the style. The house is considered a late local example of Greek Revival, showing the lag between urban and rural fashions, and it is among the largest in town. Union gunboats struck it during the Civil War in December 1862, and an account places Lightfoot family members at the river's edge when John Wilkes Booth crossed in 1865. Later owners added rooms and a garage, yet the original character remains largely intact, a meathouse and brick well survive nearby, and the property is still a private home.","period_of_significance":"1846-1865","architect_builder":"unknown","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Described as in very good condition, still used as a single dwelling, with twentieth-century additions including a garage and larger riverside porch.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:59.543599-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/6799/41679951/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/94000792.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000792/6c81383167-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000792/6c81383167-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pubdog","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riverview_Port_Royal_VA_Oct_12.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pubdog</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Riverview_Port_Royal_VA_Oct_12.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679951","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverview_(Port_Royal,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713141"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/caroline-county/riverview-94000792/"}