Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 01/15/1995
NRHP Listing Date 03/17/1995
NRHP Reference Number 95000245
On the Northumberland County property formerly known as Roadview, the earliest section of The Anchorage was built in the second or third quarter of the 18th century, probably for Abraham Shears, grandson of the property’s original patentee. The a two-part, three-bay, gambrel-roof structure is typical of the many vernacular colonial dwellings that once dotted the Northern Neck, of which only a handful remain. A defining feature is the massive, double-shouldered brick chimney. The house was remodeled around 1800, when Federal mantels and other then-fashionable trim were added. In 1856 William C. Kent enlarged the house with a two-story wing in a country Greek Revival idiom. On the grounds are a 18th-century corncrib and a family cemetery dating from the Kent family ownership. The Anchorage is situated on Mill Creek, a tidal tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.
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: May 26, 2022
