Harshbarger House
Also known as: VDHR File No. 80-13
Why it's listed
Near Roanoke, Virginia, this two-story house combines a small limestone section dated 1797 with a brick addition made around 1825. Samuel Harshbarger, the son of German immigrants who came from Pennsylvania, built the stone part as a single room on each floor, marked by a plaque reading SHB 1797 in the west gable. The brick wing, laid in Flemish bond with a hall-parlor plan, faces the opposite direction and reflects regional building habits of the early nineteenth century. A brick kitchen wing stands to the north. The one-room plan in stone is unknown elsewhere in the immediate region, where other stone houses are larger. The house is linked to the Brethren community that settled the northern Roanoke Valley, and its stone construction suggests a German-influenced tradition. Neglected for many years in the mid-twentieth century, it was purchased in 1989 and carefully restored, with significant original fabric retained and the kitchen wing rebuilt.
Significance in brief: It is presented as a well-preserved example of a rare one-room-plan stone house, a form not otherwise known in stone in the region. The later Flemish-bond brick addition shows how the owner responded to changing early nineteenth-century tastes. It is also tied to German and Swiss Brethren immigrants who settled the area and whose stone building tradition rarely survives from the eighteenth century.
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 92001390, listed October 15, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 316 John Richardson Rd. (Co. Rt. 743), Roanoke (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Roanoke (city and county) |
| Listed | October 15, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92001390 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1797-circa 1825 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Architectural style | Early Republic: Federal; Other: Single-room plan |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | European, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored after decades of mid-twentieth-century neglect; in use as a single dwelling. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 37.32188, -79.93767 (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 92001390.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15223110
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.