Employing forms of uncompromising simplicity, the hall/parlor Alexander Watson Batte House near Jarratt in Greensville County is a reminder that large landowners of the early Republic oftentimes shunned architectural ostentation, concentrating on their crops rather than on domestic luxuries. Structural investigation suggests that Alexander Batte, owner of several tracts, constructed the house in two building campaigns between 1815 and 1835, the east section being the oldest. The floor levels of the two sections are different and the trim of each section has subtle differences. Contrasting with the plainness of the wooden elements are the massive fieldstone chimneys and foundations which have recently been rebuilt because of deteriorated mortar. Such small houses were once a common element of the landscape but few have survived in this region. The Alexander Watson Batte House, together with a nearby antebellum barn, offers an intriguing look at a regional early-19th-century farmstead.
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
Nomination Form
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia