Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/02/1969
NRHP Listing Date 02/26/1970
NRHP Reference Number 70000779
This simple brick structure is possibly a unique example of a decorated outbuilding built solely to serve as a root cellar. It is believed to have been erected sometime after 1768 when William Wessels acquired the property and erected a house for himself. Wessels’s Accomack County home burned in 1937, but Wessels Root Cellar survived and continues to serve its original function. Most colonial root cellars were contained within the foundations of other buildings; this example is unusual for being freestanding and for having its gable decorated with a pattern of glazed-header bricks.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: December 20, 2021
