Gardner-Mays Cottage
Why it's listed
Built in 1891 at 1022 Grove Street (originally 1212) in Charlottesville's Fifeville neighborhood, this small stucco cottage is a simple one-over-one-room house with an original one-room rear wing. Both sections have medium-pitched gable roofs with boxed cornices, now covered in standing-seam tin. Windows are six-over-six double-sash, and a one-story porch with chamfered posts shelters the two-bay facade. Inside, a single flight of stairs rises to one upstairs room. James A. Gardner bought the lot in 1891 and built two cottages at the Grove Street end the same year; two more followed near King Street around 1905. The railroad is said to have financed a number of such three-room workers' cottages in Fifeville during the 1890s. This one was usually rental property, except from 1947 to 1967, when the Mays family owned and lived in it. It is valued as a representative, largely unaltered example of a once-common local house type.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents it as a representative example of the dozens of nearly identical workers' cottages built around the turn of the century in Fifeville, Belmont and the area northwest of Starr Hill. It is one of very few that remain in original form, without additions or new siding. The reviewer noted high integrity.
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 82001806, listed October 21, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1022 Grove St., Charlottesville (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Charlottesville |
| Listed | October 21, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82001806 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1891 |
| Architect / builder | James A. Gardner (original owner, built the cottage) |
| Architectural style | Vernacular |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good; used as rental property (residence). |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 38.02914, -78.49870 (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 82001806.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15221404
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.