Pharsalia, Nelson County, VA (062-0428)

Pharsalia is locally significant and eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C for architecture. The property contains one of the best collections of antebellum plantation buildings in Nelson County. The vernacular outbuildings include kitchen, slave quarters and farm buildings. The manor house is also significant as an unusual example of Federal style architecture. The original plan was a one-story, four room linear arrangement of rooms. The current T-shape plan and an offset pediment above the original roofline were the result of later additions. Pharsalia is also eligible under Criterion B for its association with William Massie in the area of Agriculture. He was the creator of the plantation and his surviving papers document life on the plantation throughout his lifetime. Massie is best remembered as the landowner who created what is today the second biggest agricultural industry in Nelson County, the commercial orchard. He was a well-known landowner, miller, politician and businessman. The period of significance is significant from 1814, when the house was constructed, until 1852, the date of the last significant historic addition. Today, the house is part of a working farm and it remains in a rural area surrounded by orchards. The house and grounds are used to teach 19th century culture and life and are rented for conferences and special occasions.

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