Named for the level loop of bottomland formed by nearby Hayes Creek, this genteel farmstead preserves a high-style brick dwelling built in 1819 for William Houston, a relative of the Texas pioneer and Rockbridge County native, Sam Houston. The house at Level Loop is noted for its fine regional Federal woodwork, particularly an exceptional carved mantel in what is now the dining room. The mantel, a regional interpretation of the Adam style, carved with almost bizarre gusto, is enriched with patera, thumb-nail gouge work, and fylfots (a German-style pinwheel motif). The restrained Federal character of the exterior, with its molded-brick cornice, a local idiom, illustrates the image of dignity favored by the Shenandoah Valley’s rural elite in the decades following the Revolution. Several 19th-century outbuildings remain on the Level Loop property, including a board-and-batten smokehouse with a small cupola.
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
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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