Kable House
Why it's listed
Kable House at 310 Prospect Street in Staunton is a two-story brick Italianate building on a raised basement, built in 1873-74 for John W. Alby. It features a hip roof, a front porch with slender chamfered columns and carved brackets, segmental-arched windows and a bracketed cornice with raised brick panels. Captain William Hartman Kable bought the house in 1884 and used it for his school, later called Staunton Military Academy, where he lived and students used the upstairs as a dormitory. A fire in 1904 destroyed the other campus buildings, but this house survived. In 1917 the local firm T. J. Collins & Son designed changes, including a new front door with an elliptical fanlight, altered second-floor windows, a side wing with a sleeping porch and a modernized interior with Colonial Revival details. The academy closed in 1976, and Mary Baldwin College acquired the property. It is valued as the school's first building and as an elaborate local Italianate example.
Significance in brief: It was the first building of the former Staunton Military Academy, a school that was among the most prominent institutions in Staunton for nearly a century. Architecturally, it is described as one of the most significant and elaborate Italianate structures left in the city.
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 79003299, listed June 19, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 310 Prospect St., Staunton (Independent City) |
|---|---|
| County | Staunton |
| Listed | June 19, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79003299 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Original house - unknown; alterations - T. J. Collins & Son, Staunton |
| Architectural style | Italianate, with Colonial Revival alterations |
| Areas of significance | Military, Education |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as in good condition and altered, with the building owned by Mary Baldwin College after the academy closed in 1976. The form's present-use boxes are not clearly legible. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Stuart Addition Historic District |
| Coordinates | 38.15416, -79.06890 (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 79003299.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16851300
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.