This complex of structures in Page County is the core of an early German farmstead reflecting the building traditions and cultural values of the Shenandoah Valley’s German settlers. Included in the Isaac Spitler Homeplace is an exceptionally rare Switzer barn, one of the few to have survived the Union barn burnings during the Civil War. The barn’s log core, along with stone remains of a log house, the ruins of a stone outbuilding, and other outbuildings, were likely built between 1740 and 1753 by John Spitler, a stonemason and the original settler here. The large brick farmhouse was constructed in 1825 for Spitler’s grandson, Isaac Spitler, and expanded in 1857. Incorporating traditional German-style features such as an asymmetrical floor plan and two front entrances, the house served as a place of worship for local German Baptist Brethren. Spitler’s descendants resided here until 1934. The house was sympathetically renovated in 1990.
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