Office Hall
Also known as: DHR File No. 48-16
Why it's listed
Two brick outbuildings near the intersection of Virginia Route 3 and U.S. Route 301 mark the site of Office Hall, an eighteenth-century plantation in southeastern King George County. The buildings, a two-story detached kitchen and a large smokehouse with a pyramidal roof, were built around 1805-20 and remain largely unaltered. The kitchen is considered one of very few one-room-plan, two-story brick plantation kitchens recorded in Virginia, and it combines formal Federal detailing with an unusual hierarchy of brickwork patterns. Over time the buildings ended up only about 85 feet from the centerline of a busy highway, close to commercial development and a planned road widening. The owner proposed relocating them roughly 1,750 feet southeast on the same tract, onto a grassy knoll, 30 to 50 feet farther from the road and with the same orientation. The move was to include repointing and bracing, removal of later wooden connectors, and a larger preservation easement held by a historic preservation foundation. The proposal was approved in 1999.
Significance in brief: The kitchen is described as one of very few one-room-plan, two-story brick plantation kitchens recorded in Virginia, with formal Federal detailing and an unusual hierarchy of brickwork patterns. The smokehouse is a large, largely unaltered outbuilding. This amended document mainly requests approval to move both buildings a short distance on the same tract to protect them from a Route 3 widening and nearby commercial development.
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 90002164, listed January 24, 1991. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Jct. of VA 3 and US 301, King George Court House |
|---|---|
| County | King George County |
| Listed | January 24, 1991 |
| Reference number | 90002164 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Early Republic: Federal |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function is listed as vacant/not in use. The buildings need structural masonry repair, and a move about 1,750 feet to the southeast on the same tract was proposed and approved in 1999, with continued listing to be confirmed afterward. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 38.23921, -77.14919 (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.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
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 90002164.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14713005
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.