Woodhouse House (Virginia Beach, Virginia) facts for kids
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Woodhouse House
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Front of Woodhouse House in May 2012
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 Location in Virginia
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| Location | 3067 W. Neck Rd., Virginia Beach, Virginia |
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| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1810 |
| Architect | Woodhouse, Capt. Thomas |
| Architectural style | Federal |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000372 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 24, 2007 |
The Woodhouse House is a really old and important home in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was built way back in 1810! People also know it as Fountain House or Simmons House. This house is special because it shows off the Federal architecture style, which was popular a long time ago.
Because it's so old and unique, the Woodhouse House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. This means it's officially recognized as a historic site worth protecting. Even today, it's surrounded by farmland, but new homes are starting to pop up nearby.
Contents
What Does the House Look Like?
The Woodhouse House is a two-story building made of wood. It has a chimney made of bricks in a pattern called "American bond" and "Flemish bond." The roof is covered with asphalt shingles.
Other Buildings on the Property
Besides the main house, there are other buildings on the property that were added later.
- A kitchen and a smokehouse were built in 1904.
- There's also a garage, a shed, a well, and a barn from the mid-1900s.
- A swimming pool was added more recently.
Family Cemeteries
The property also has two old family cemeteries.
- The Woodhouse family cemetery is where Captain Thomas Woodhouse, who first owned the land, is buried. It's near an old, worn-out barn.
- The Simmons family cemetery is in a different part of the property, away from the main buildings.
A Look at the House's History
The land where the Woodhouse House stands has a long history, changing hands between different families over many years.
Early Owners
The property started as a large piece of land, about 75 acres. Captain Thomas Woodhouse bought it in 1811. Sadly, he passed away just two years later, in 1813, when he was only 39 years old. He left the property to his brother, Henry Woodhouse.
Henry Woodhouse later sold the land, which had grown to 102 acres, to Andrew Simmons in 1849. Andrew Simmons made the property even bigger, owning about 267 acres! He died in the 1880s.
The Fountain Family
After Andrew Simmons passed away, his family sold the land to William D. Woodhouse. He was a descendant of the original Captain Thomas Woodhouse. In 1889, William sold the land to Reuben Fountain, who lived on the land next door.
The Fountain family still owns the Woodhouse House today! Over time, as more houses have been built nearby, the property has become smaller. Now, it's just over 50 acres, with the house and its nearby buildings taking up about 1 acre.
Architectural Style
The Woodhouse House is one of the few buildings in Virginia Beach that shows how architecture changed from older styles, like Colonial and Georgian, to the Federal style. This makes it a really important example of history in the area.
