Author's note: This website is designed to be another vehicle for the dissemination of the knowledge gained from the cultural resource management work that was performed at The Botetourt Center at Greenfield by Preservation Technologies, Inc. The text, figures, and photographs presented on the following pages have been taken directly from the National Register Nomination for the 'Bowyer/ Holladay House'.
I would like to thank the Botetourt County Administrator's Office, the descendants of Colonel William Preston, the Archeological Society of Virginia, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and the Citizens of Botetourt County for their encouragement, help and continued support. The historic preservation community and the State of Virginia owe these organizations and individuals a round of applause and a great deal of thanks.
The 'Bowyer/ Holladay House' was accepted for listing on the Virginia Landmarks Register on March 17th, 1999 (St. Patrick's Day). The Nomination will be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places and should be listed shortly.
The 'Holladay/ Bowyer House' (including the site's immediate environs) qualifies for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D for its potential to provide information important in the understanding of history at the local and regional levels. The property, while owned by the Prestons, the Bowyers, and the Holladays, functioned as the core of a large farmstead/ plantation. Throughout much of its history, it was one of the largest farms being operated in Botetourt County. As such, the agricultural practices and labor force composition employed on the Bowyer and Holladay farmsteads/ plantations are important as representative of farming operations for the time period. They are also important for the aspects of the farmsteads that differed markedly from the 'average' small farm in the Valley of Virginia, as well as from the large plantations in other areas of Virginia and the Middle Atlantic Region.
The acreage within the boundaries that is being proposed for the National Register Nomination, retains much of its historic character and integrity. Although the 'Bowyer/ Holladay House' and the majority of the small outbuildings have been demolished, the landscape remains rural. The Holladay Place Secondary Structure and the 'Preston/ Bowyer' Cemetery are intact, albeit both could use some restoration.
The 'Period of Significance' for this property has been limited to the time span during which the 'Holladay/ Bowyer House' was occupied by the Bowyers and the Holladays. The construction date for this house may be as early 1830 as it is historically documented that Henry M. Bowyer and Susan R. (Preston) Bowyer moved to the 'Greenfield' property in 1830. It may be reasonably assumed that they were living in a structure on the property, likely the 'Bowyer/ Holladay House' at that date. The property remained in the ownership of the Bowyers and then the Louis and Virginia M. Holladay (Henry Bowyer's grand-daughter) until 1931, when Virginia Holladay sold the property to Frank Preston (another descendant of Colonel William Preston). Although the 'Period of Significance' for this property spans a century, a short introduction has been included to provide context on the property prior to the construction of the 'Bowyer/ Holladay House'.
The 'Statement of Significance' includes a synopsis of the other sections listed below. This site does not include all of the information from the National Register Nomination Form. If does include the majority of the narrative sections, and the photographic documentation.
