About this property
Almshouse Farm at Machipongo, now known as the Barrier Islands Center, is a historic almshouse for Northampton County residents. Residents, also known as "inmates", included those sent for unpaid debts but also included homeless people, the mentally ill, orphans and those with diseases like tuberculosis and smallpox. "Inmates" were generally directed by the court to live at the almshouse. The Almshouse Farm served as the site for the Northampton County poorhouse for almost 150 years, from 1804 until 1952. African-Americans were housed in a separate building on the property located at Machipongo, Northampton County, Virginia. The oldest of the three main buildings was built about 1725, and is a 1 1/2-half story structure built in two parts, one brick and one frame, and probably predates the almshouse use of the property. The main building was built about 1840, and is a frame, two-story building in the vernacular Greek Revival style. It housed residents of the almshouse farm. A building dated to 1910, is a one-story frame building in a form resembling that of one-story frame school buildings from the same period and was specifically constructed to separately house African-American residents. There were 10 rooms for the black poor, and no in-house plumbing. This building was renovated in 2013 and now serves as the BIC Education Building. Also on the property are two contributing small, frame, late-19 or early 20th-century outbuildings. The Northampton County Almshouse Farm was in continuous operation between 1803 and 1952. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation)
This page lists Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation). A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation) listed on the National Register?
Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 31, 2002.
What type of historic resource is Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation)?
Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation) is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation)?
The period of significance for Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation) is recorded as the civil_war era.
Can I research the history near Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation)?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation) will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Northampton County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Northampton County.
Explore NorthamptonCounty ›More historic places in Virginia
Browse all historic places in Virginia.
View Virginiahistoric sites ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Almshouse Farm at Machipongo (Additional Documentation) will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.