Miller, A. J., House
Also known as: Miller-Hemp House
Why it's listed
Near Middlebrook in southwestern Augusta County stands a brick farmhouse built around 1884 for Ananias "Jack" Miller, who bought the surrounding land in 1874. It is one of several Italianate brick houses built locally in the late 19th century, with a three-bay facade, bracketed cornice, carved entrance trim and a low hipped metal roof. Its main distinction lies inside. In 1892 an itinerant painter, G. B. Jones, decorated the central passage with mountain and lake landscapes, hunting and fishing scenes, a Buffalo Bill portrait and Victorian vignettes, and signed and dated the work. He also painted room names over the doors and grained and marbleized woodwork and mantels upstairs. The interior otherwise survives with few changes, including eight mantels and a turned staircase. Outbuildings across the road include barns, a granary, a carriage house and a chicken house. The house is valued as one of the best surviving examples of rural painted decoration in Virginia.
Significance in brief: The house holds some of the most extensive and best-preserved work of a rural itinerant painter in late 19th-century Virginia. G. B. Jones signed and dated the hallway paintings June 17, 1892. His landscapes, vignettes, wood graining and marbleizing show a lingering local tradition of painted interiors.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82004542, listed July 8, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | VA 639, Middlebrook |
|---|---|
| County | Augusta County |
| Listed | July 8, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82004542 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1884 |
| Architect / builder | unknown (painter G. B. Jones decorated the interior in 1892) |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Areas of significance | Art |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied as a private residence; interior survives with few alterations, though some painted decoration has been painted over and the north rooms were remodeled into an apartment. |
| Acreage | 9 |
| Coordinates | 38.02362, -79.23228 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82004542.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14711951
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.