National Register of Historic Places

Burr, Peter, House

Shenandoah Junction, Jefferson County, West Virginia
Listed
April 8, 1982
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
82004322

About this property

The Peter Burr House was built between 1751 and 1755 near present-day Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia, making it one of the oldest houses in West Virginia. Burr, whose first cousin was Aaron Burr, was one of the first settlers in the area. It is the oldest surviving post-and-beam-construction house in West Virginia. The 9.5-acre (3.8 ha) property was acquired from Burr family descendants in the 1990s and has been under restoration by Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission. The taller section of the house is the oldest, with brick filling in between log framing, covered with hand-riven clapboards. The steeply pitched roof overhangs the larger section on both the north and south elevations. An addition, lower in height, dates to 1804, and features a large limestone chimney. A two-story springhouse lies to the west of the main house. The oldest portion of the Burr house has a hall-and-parlor arrangement, with the hall and parlor reversed from their usual precedence, so that the parlor is at the front door. A log kitchen was built in the 18th century, which was attached to the core of the house in 1813 with an intervening room. Peter Burr II was born in Connecticut, cousin of Aaron Burr, and was granted more than 800 acres (320 ha) in 1751 after arriving in Virginia in the late 1740s. Burr lived on the property until his death in 1795. As a cousin of Burr, and an associate of nearby landowners and soldiers Charles Lee and Horatio Gates, Burr was an opponent of the Washington family, who also owned land in the area. The Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission has built a replica barn on the property. Media related to Peter Burr House (Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia) at Wikimedia Commons Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. WV-42, "Peter Burr House, Vicinity of State Route 9 & Ridge Road, Shenandoah Junction, Jefferson County, WV", 27 photos, 2 data pages, 2 photo caption pages HABS No. WV-42-A, "Peter Burr House, Springhouse", 7 photos, 1 photo caption page Peter Burr House at Jefferson County Historic Landmarks] Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission - Preservation Efforts

Location

Shenandoah Junction, Jefferson County, West Virginia
39.35963, -77.85669

Categories

EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

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.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Colonial
0.7 mi
Hazelfield
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1 mi
Gap View Farm
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1 mi
York Hill
Colonial
1.2 mi
Duffields Depot
Early Republic
1.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Burr, Peter, House listed on the National Register?

Burr, Peter, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 8, 1982.

What type of historic resource is Burr, Peter, House?

Burr, Peter, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Burr, Peter, House?

The period of significance for Burr, Peter, House is recorded as the industrial era.

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