Search
Close this search box.

048-0016

Office Hall

VLR Listing Date

08/21/1990

NRHP Listing Date

01/24/1991

NRHP Reference Number

90002164

The two picturesque outbuildings at this busy highway intersection in King George County are the remnants of the extensive 18th-century farmstead of Office Hall, that was the birthplace and childhood home of William (“Extra Billy”) Smith (1797-1887), U.S. congressman, Confederate general, and twice governor of Virginia. Built circa 1805-1820, the kitchen is one of the very few one-room-plan, two-story brick plantation kitchens recorded in Virginia. It exhibits several unusual features including formal Federal-style detailing, an odd hierarchy of brickwork patterns, and a second-story room originally accessible only by an exterior stair. At various points in its history the kitchen served as servants’ lodgings and as a private school. The contemporary smokehouse has an unusual roof structure, featuring false joists and outriggers. At the time of listing in the registers both Office Hall buildings remained remarkably unaltered and illustrate the broad repertoire of the vernacular Virginia builder.

An updated nomination for Office Hall was approved in 1999, prior to the move of the kitchen and the smokehouse to a nearby knoll within the historic Office Hall tract, but away from the intersection of Routes 3 and 301. The buildings have since fallen into a ruinous condition.
[VLR Approved: 5/16/1999; NRHP Approved: 8/19/1999]

Last Updated: November 9, 2023

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

048-0018

Powhatan Rural Historic District

King George (County)

048-0024

White Plains

King George (County)

048-0013

Millbank

King George (County)