Barnett House
Also known as: Big Spring; 60-440
Why it's listed
Overlooking a series of cress pools beside the Big Spring near Elliston, this two-story brick house was built in 1808 and is credited to David Barnett, whose father James had settled the farm area in 1767. It follows a five-bay, single-pile, center-passage plan, with Flemish bond brickwork on the front and north end, splayed jack arches over the windows, and a fanlight with Gothic tracery above the entrance. Federal-style mantels and trim survive inside. In the early twentieth century, owner O. N. Moomaw, who also built eighteen watercress lakes at the spring, altered the house in 1910. A colossal Doric portico, wraparound porch, Colonial Revival cornice and pedimented dormers were added, and the rear ell was raised to two stories. A county survey found only two early nineteenth-century center-passage houses of this kind, and the remodeling made this one of the county's grandest Colonial Revival homes, a local landmark. A stuccoed meathouse is also included.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the house is an outstanding example of a large, finely detailed early nineteenth-century house form; only two such center-passage brick houses were identified in the county survey. Its early twentieth-century remodeling made it one of the county's grandest Colonial Revival homes and a landmark in the Elliston community.
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 89001810, listed November 13, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | US 460/11, 0.3 mi. S of jct. with VA 631, Elliston |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | November 13, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001810 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1808 - 1910 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown (the house is credited to David Barnett, 1808) |
| Architectural style | Single-pile center-passage plan; Late 19th and 20th century Revivals: Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Historic and current function is domestic single dwelling with a secondary structure. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 37.21103, -80.23308 (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 89001810.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14711999
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.