William Walker House

A particularly well-preserved example of small-scale domestic architecture in the Jeffersonian manner, this single-story house, elevated on a high basement, is reminiscent of the central cores of the Palladian villas that Jefferson admired. Although the red brick and pedimented wood portico with a tympanum lunette are characteristic of Jefferson's work, there is no evidence of his direct involvement in the design. A former Jefferson workman, James Walker, built the house for his brother, William. Like many of Palladio's patrons, William Walker was a prominent merchant. The elegant house suited his position in the small village, which was a trading port on the James River. Modifications, added later in the nineteenth century, have been removed. The small brick service wing on the east is a twentieth-century addition.