001-0029

Mason House

VLR Listing Date

09/17/1974

NRHP Listing Date

11/21/1974

NRHP Reference Number

74002100
DHR's Virginia Board of Historic Resources easement

A compact colonial manor house, the Mason House in Accomack County is an important and rare example of the transition from the Jacobean style to the Georgian as revealed in Virginia vernacular architecture. The treatment of the front and rear walls as paneled bays is a unique survival. Although later painted over, those panels without openings are set off by a diaper pattern of glazed-header bricks. These are among the state’s few remaining examples of colonial-period diaper work. The history of the Mason House has not been precisely documented, but it was built after the property was acquired by William Andrews in 1722.  A dendrochronological investigation has established a likely construction date of 1729.  The most striking interior feature is the Jacobean-style, closed-string stair with symmetrical turned balusters and pulvinated stringer frieze. The Mason House long stood abandoned and deteriorating, but was repaired and stabilized in the early 1990s. A full rehabilitation of the Mason House began in 2007 with meticulous attention to the restoration of several earlier features revealed by extensive research and analysis.

Last Updated: December 1, 2023

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Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark

For additional information Read

Nomination Form

273-0014

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(MPD) Multiple Property Document