Farmer’s Rest, a rural Greek Revival house, was built ca. 1835 in Henrico County by the prominent and wealthy landowner, Henry Cox. The house features a transverse-front-hall plan and two semi-exposed rear chimneys, making it one of only a few surviving pre-Civil War dwellings with this type of layout in the county. Considering that the house was within a few miles of Civil War battle lines, fronted the major transportation route of Varina Road, and had a temporary military road passing across the rear of the property, it is fortunate that the house survived the war. It appears to have been used by Union troops at various periods, but most intensively in 1864-1865. Although the Farmer’s Rest dwelling has undergone a moderate evolution of architectural materials since its construction, the current house was rehabilitated to reveal its original high-quality features such as its 1830s weatherboard, formerly concealed by aluminum siding.
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
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