Pear Valley is a one-room yeoman's

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

and prime example of

vernacular architecture Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...

Eastville, Virginia Eastville is a town in Northampton County, Virginia, Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 300 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Northampton County. The Northampton County Courthouse ...

. The modest embellishments and its high level of preservation make it one of the most architecturally interesting examples of small, historic homes in Virginia.

Architecture

The house is very typical of early

Chesapeake Chesapeake most often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian *Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated places In Virginia * ...

architecture. It is a -story brace-framed structure, clad in weatherboard siding that is largely original, with one wall of brick laid in Flemish bond. Its interior consists of a single chamber with a sleeping loft above. The dwelling is remarkably detailed and impeccably constructed. The owners were presumably slightly more well-off than their near neighbors, but still not wealthy enough to afford a larger, brick building. Distinctive features of the building include a pyramidal

chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...

and glazed

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

work. Although there used to be controversy surrounding the construction date,

Dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...

and extensive study place the date between 1720 and 1750. The building underwent a number of alterations in the 19th and early 20th centuries. From the mid-1940s to the mid-1980s the house was little-used, sometimes housing migrant workers, but it was also used for storage, and as a chicken house for a time.

Preservation

Preservation Virginia Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus ...

purchased the property in 1986. They began extensive restoration work, including repairing the foundation, in 1994. The entire roof of the structure was replaced with cedar shingles, as called for by the Historic Structures Report, in 2004. The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1969, and designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 2013. On November 13, 2014, Preservation Virginia transferred ownership of Pear Valley to the newly formed Northampton Historic Preservation Society (formerly the 100-year-old Northampton Branch, PVA). The property is currently open to the public by appointment.

References

External links

Northampton Historic Preservation Society

Pear Valley, State Route 628 vicinity, Shadyside, Northampton County, VA
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS) {{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Northampton County, Virginia National Historic Landmarks in Virginia Houses in Northampton County, Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Museums in Northampton County, Virginia Historic house museums in Virginia

Architecture

Preservation

See also

References

External links