Orange Springs

Orange Springs
Location VA 629 E of jct. with US 522, Unionville, Virginia
Coordinates 38°11′14″N 77°55′57″W / 38.18722°N 77.93250°W / 38.18722; -77.93250Coordinates: 38°11′14″N 77°55′57″W / 38.18722°N 77.93250°W / 38.18722; -77.93250
Area 52 acres (21 ha)
Architectural style Federal
NRHP reference # 90002134[1]
VLR # 068-0066
Significant dates
Added to NRHP February 27, 1992
Designated VLR June 19, 1990[2]

Orange Springs is a historic 52-acre home, farm complex, and former resort spa located near Unionville, Orange County, Virginia, just east of the intersection of US Route 522 and Route 629, located along Route 629, overlooking Terry's Run.

Main farmhouse at Orange Springs.
Topographical map of the Orange Springs Farm area.

The two-story, "L"-plan frame residence on the property was originally constructed in the 1790s as a tavern. It was converted shortly thereafter into a dining room and "dancing room" or ballroom for the spa complex. Orange Springs was in operation as a resort spa from the early 1790s until about 1850, after which the spa building was remodeled and enlarged for a family home. It features a two-story front porch supported by chamfered wooden piers with vernacular Doric order capitals. Also on the property are the contributing frame smokehouse topped with a pyramidal roof, dating from the period of the operation of the Orange Springs spa; a pit greenhouse; ice house; a granary, large barn, and cow shed built in 1916; and frame hen house (1908).[3]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[1]

A Statement of Significance on its nomination for this register was recorded as follows:[4]

Orange Springs is a rare example of an early spa resort located in the Virginia Piedmont that in the mid-nineteenth century evolved from a popular spring resort to a private residence and farm complex. It is eligible under Criterion A for its association with mineral spring resorts and their popularity as a source of healing and recreation. Virtually all known Virginia spas were located to the west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the Shenandoah Valley or in what is now West Virginia. Although Orange Springs was not as large or well-known as such western resorts as Hot Springs or White Sulphur Springs, the surviving records of Orange Springs testify to its prominence in antebellum Virginia; they contain the names of such patrons as the parents of President James Madison and the president himself.

Orange Springs is also eligible under Criterion C for its architectural significance at the local level as an intact example of a late-eighteenth-century residence that was remodeled in the Greek Revival style in the mid-nineteenth century. In addition to the main dwelling which retains a high degree of integrity, the complex contains seven contributing ancillary buildings and two contributing structures that range in date from the late 1790s to 1916.

The Orange Springs Farm has a Facebook page where they promote their history and encourage visits.

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Ann L. Miller (May 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Orange Springs" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo
  4. ↑ Ann L. Miller (May 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Orange Springs" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
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