Folly Castle Historic District
Also known as: West Washington Street Historic District; See Also:Folly Cast
Why it's listed
This residential district in Petersburg, Virginia, centers on West Washington Street and Perry Street and holds fourteen houses and one church dating from the late 18th and 19th centuries. Most are detached single-family homes of two or two and a half stories, built of brick or frame, and together they form a consistent streetscape in scale and mass. Styles include Georgian, Federal, Italianate, Queen Anne and Georgian Revival. Folly Castle, built in 1763 for Peter Jones, V, got its name from the supposed extravagance of a childless owner building so large a house. The McIlwaine-Friend House, completed in 1858, is an Italianate mansion that served as General George Pickett's headquarters during the Civil War. The Gothic Revival Second Presbyterian Church, from 1861-1862, used its yard as a temporary burying ground for soldiers in 1864-65. The grouping is described as a unique architectural cluster in Petersburg.
Significance in brief: The district is a compact, relatively unaltered cluster of houses with a unified scale and mass, showing Georgian, Federal, Italianate, Queen Anne and Georgian Revival styles. It represents a typical middle to upper middle-class neighborhood of 19th-century Petersburg. Two houses are tied by local tradition to the Peter Jones, V and Robert Dunn McIlwaine families.
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 80004313, listed July 16, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Perry and W. Washington Sts., Petersburg (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Petersburg |
| Listed | July 16, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80004313 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Second Presbyterian Church attributed to the Rev. Theodorick Pryor; Folly Castle built by Peter Jones, V |
| Architectural style | Georgian, Federal, Italianate, Queen Anne, Gothic Revival, Georgian Revival |
| Areas of significance | Military, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Individual houses are in varying states of disrepair, but no contemporary additions break with the 19th-century fabric. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Within district | Folly Castle Historic District (Boundary Increase) |
| Coordinates | 37.22677, -77.40974 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 80004313.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16837250
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.