Wall, Adam, House
Also known as: 60-233
Why it's listed
Set among twentieth-century farm buildings in rolling agricultural land west of Blacksburg, the Adam Wall House is a two-story log dwelling with a five-bay facade, weatherboard siding, brick end chimneys, and a two-story frame ell at the rear. It began as an unusually large hall-parlor house, measuring thirty-nine by twenty-three feet, and a partition added in the late nineteenth century created its center passage. Inside, a Federal period mantel with an elliptical sunburst tablet survives, along with beaded boards and an early enclosed winder stair. Family tradition links the Wall family to the site in the eighteenth century, but the present house appears to date from the second quarter of the nineteenth century, after Adam Wall bought the land in 1835. Of forty log hall-parlor houses recorded in the county in 1986, only ten dated from 1825-1860, and this is among the earliest and the largest. The house continues as part of a working dairy farm.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under criterion C as an unusual example of the regionally popular hall-parlor log form, with a very large floor plan and many well-preserved early features despite alterations. Its five-bay facade is unique among the county's log hall-parlor houses, which otherwise have three bays. Its late nineteenth-century conversion to a center-passage plan shows how a family adapted its home to changing needs.
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 89001891, listed November 13, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | VA 657, 0.5 mi. S of VA 685, Prices Fork |
|---|---|
| County | Montgomery County |
| Listed | November 13, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89001891 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | ca. 1850 |
| Architect / builder | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Hall-parlor plan (log), later altered to center-passage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Remains in the Wall family and is in active use as a dairy farm; recently rehabilitated, with the front porch enclosed and the west ell porch removed. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 37.20781, -80.46763 (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 89001891.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14711954
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.