6303 Towana Rd
Richmond, VA, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Gordon-Baughan-Warren House (Boyd House; 127-6167)

Statement of Significant:

The Boyd House, located in the western residential suburbs of the City of Richmond, Virginia, on the southwest side Three Chopt Road, is significant as a rare surviving 19th-century farmhouse in a neighborhood where nearly all of the structures date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With the exception of one brick farmhouse that stands on the northeast side of Three Chopt Road, one of Virginia's oldest identifiable roads, the Boyd House is the only antebellum structure in this western section of the city.
The core of this dwelling dates from 1835; it was enlarged around 1860 when it appears that several rooms were added and a smaller dwelling house was constructed on the property and described as a "servants' house" or "guest house" on maps from the early 1920s. Some additions and improvements to the house were made in 1910, and the present configuration, including additions to the dwelling and the two-car garage, was achieved by 1921. There have been no substantive additions to the structures since 1921. The Boyd House has been assigned the historical name of the primary owners - Gordon, Baughan and Warren -- for those most closely associated with the construction and major additions to the dwelling. However, for purposes of this nomination, the preferred name will be the "Boyd House" for the family that has owned it for the past 36 years.

The property is also significant for its association with several important periods of development in rural and agricultural Henrico County in the 19th century. It began as an active farm and later vegetable farm in the community that was then known as the Rio Vista neighborhood. Rio Vista was the post office and country store located at the intersection of Three Chopt Road and the old Westham Plank Road, now Cary Street Road. In the early 20th century, when it was acquired by George Warren, a prominent Richmond business man, it became a highly visible property in a residential area characterized by a trolley line linking the neighborhood with older portions of the City, a large country club and golf course, several churches, the new location of the University of Richmond, and two prestigious private schools, all of which attracted residents from Richmond's downtown neighborhoods. The dwelling, whose property never exceeded 35 acres, continues to occupy an unusually large surviving parcel of land of approximately 1.6 acres. The parcel is still terraced in the rear, displaying land formations that would have accommodated a large vegetable garden. Throughout most of its 20th-century history, the rear yard has included large, informal flower beds. Well set back from Towana Road, the main road leading to the University of Richmond, the Boyd House property retains its rare rural feeling in what has become one of Richmond's most prestigious residential neighborhoods and where the majority of properties have lots of less than 1/2 acre.

Criteria Statement
The Boyd House is eligible under Criterion C for its architecture that continues to reflect its 19th century roots while portraying its transition to a prominent early 20th-century residential home at the heart of one of the City's oldest suburbs. It is also eligible under Criterion A for its close association with the development of Westhampton, a Richmond suburb best known for its historic institutions that represent the educational, religious, and social life of the City's elite families. The period of significance extends from 1835 through the 50-year mark of 1955.