Violet Bank
Why it's listed
Violet Bank is a one-story frame Federal-style house on a ridge above the Appomattox River, facing Petersburg from the Colonial Heights side. Built in 1815 after an earlier house burned in 1810, it was the home of Thomas Shore, who had acquired the land in 1777. A tetrastyle portico with reeded Doric columns shelters the entrance, and three-part bays with octagonal ends frame the front. Inside, the south and north rooms carry some of the finest Adam-style plaster cornices, friezes and ceiling medallions in Virginia. Shore met the architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe in 1796, and the nomination suggests he may have drawn on Latrobe's ideas for the bays. The house later served as General Robert E. Lee's headquarters from June to November 1864, where he learned of the explosion at the Crater. A very large cucumber tree stands in the front yard. Today the first floor is a museum and the basement a public library.
Significance in brief: The nomination cites the house's fine Adamesque plaster ornamentation and its octagonal-ended bays, a feature linked to designs by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and found in several important Virginia houses. It also served as General Robert E. Lee's headquarters from June to November 1864. Its front yard holds a cucumber tree believed to be the largest known of its species in the country.
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 74002234, listed July 30, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Royal Oak Ave., Colonial Heights (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Colonial Heights |
| Listed | July 30, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74002234 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 19th Century (specific date 1815) |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| Areas of significance | Military, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Excellent condition and unaltered apart from the removal of the rear wing; the first floor is a small museum of local and Civil War history and the basement serves as a public library. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Violet Bank Historic District |
| Coordinates | 37.24182, -77.40504 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 74002234.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q23138857
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.