Bon Air
Also known as: Adam and Susan Bear House; Bear Lithia; VDHR File No. 082-5157
Why it's listed
Bon Air is a two-story brick house near Elkton in Rockingham County, Virginia, built around 1870 for farmer and miller Adam C. Bear and his wife Susan. It combines Italianate and Greek Revival elements, including a hip-and-deck metal roof, bay windows at the front, a bracketed cornice and a center-passage plan with Greek Revival-derived mantels. A late nineteenth-century meat house stands nearby. The house sits beside Bear Lithia Spring, a strongly flowing spring that the Bear family commercially exploited through leases, bottling and rail shipment of its water. The Bears and, after 1909, the Keiser family took in guests who came to drink the water, a practice that continued into the mid-twentieth century and included Confederate General John S. Mosby by family tradition. The property was recognized for its architecture and for its link to Virginia's springs-going tradition, with a period of significance from about 1870 to about 1930. The spring itself, covered in the 1960s, is not part of the listing.
Significance in brief: The house is considered a well-preserved example of Greek Revival and Italianate styles, with Greek Revival-derived mantels, bay windows and plaster cornices. It is also tied to the tradition of springs-going, as the Bear and later Keiser families took in lodgers who came for the spring water and marketed the water commercially. Significance is at the local level.
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 07000399, listed May 2, 2007. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 2477 Bear Lithia Rd., Elkton |
|---|---|
| County | Rockingham County |
| Listed | May 2, 2007 |
| Reference number | 07000399 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | circa 1870 - circa 1930 |
| Architectural style | Italianate; Greek Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still used as a single-family dwelling with a secondary structure; the adjacent spring is covered by concrete, owned by the Town of Elkton, and excluded from the nomination. |
| Acreage | 0.8 |
| Coordinates | 38.43593, -78.61921 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
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 07000399.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q15202950
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.