By Matt de Simone
In May, multiple locations in Botetourt County were given the “Endangered Site” classification by the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation (RVPF). Some of the properties listed are The Rader-Muse Bank Barn and The Rader House in Troutville and the Peck-Figgatt House in Fincastle.
The RVPF is a nonprofit organization preserving the historic, natural, and cultural resources of the Roanoke Valley. In the RVPF spring newsletter, the foundation profiled sites identified as endangered by RVPF 2023 Endangered Sites committee members Alison Blanton, Whitney Feldmann, Rob Logan, Angela Steifbold, Judy Harrison, and Mike Pulice.
Some of the locations on the list were identified by Pulice, a former RVPF board member who works occasionally with the foundation when it prepares a list of annual local sites of historic importance which may be threatened by development, demolition, or deterioration. This list doesn’t serve as an indictment on the property, but more so serving as awareness for the locations’ preservation.
“A lot of times, we don’t really know the status of the building,” Pulice explained in a recent interview. “We know that we’ve seen it, it’s not looking so good… the one (bank) barn is really meant to be emblematic of all the barns we’re losing. The bank barns have a higher level of craftsmanship than the barns that followed.”
The Rader-Muse Bank Barn in Troutville is one of the newest locations added to the endangered sites. A bank barn is built into a bank (slope) so a person could drive in on either level. The top side usually has a large drive-in bay and the bottom side doesn’t, but can be entered from ground level.
“Virginia is known for having a lot of (bank barns) in the valley,” Pulice continued. “As you go north from Botetourt, (bank barns) used to be super-prevalent but, more and more, agricultural buildings have fallen by the wayside. People don’t have any use for them. You can’t blame a farmer or a property owner for not putting money into a building they have no use for. The Preservation Foundation has always taken pains not to make (the list) look accusatory… it’s with a full understanding that people often don’t have the means (to preserve the property).”
Inclusion on the endangered list is a positive for property owners, Pulice explained. However, the “county isn’t making handouts to private property owners to preserve old buildings.”
Judy Harris is a RVPF board member who is also the chair of the Endangered Sites Committee. She explained the selection process.
“When (the foundation) chooses a site, we send the (property) owner a packet explaining that we’re not here to judge or say that there is anything wrong with what they’ve done or haven’t done,” Harris said. “The foundation is here to make them aware that if they do want to reach out to us that sometimes, not always, but sometimes we can help them if the site is old enough, or eligible for the Virginia Historic Registers, that we can help them get those designations. We might be able to work with them on tax credits for rehabilitation and getting the property back on its feet a little bit.”
Harris explained there are grant opportunities for properties depending on the circumstance and age of the property. It’s up to the property owners to look into it, if interested. The foundation merely serves as a resource to better preserve these historic locations that appear on the list. She added that Pulice and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) are “invaluable resources” to the RVPF in an advisory role.
“(The foundation) is pretty confined by their name, ‘Roanoke Valley,’ but they’ve taken interest in Botetourt over many years, for a long time,” Pulice added. “I guess its fair to say that maybe some areas of Botetourt drain into the Roanoke River and are a part of the Roanoke Valley. They try to take interest in areas close by.”
Harris explained there are numerous members of the Roanoke Valley community that work with the foundation to help them keep up with some of the historic locations and their preservation.
The Botetourt locations which appeared on this year’s list of RVPF Endangered Sites recently appeared in RVPF’s spring newsletter are listed as follows.
Rader-Muse Bank Barn – 6325 Lee Highway Troutville
The ca. 1900 Rader-Muse Barn is a rare surviving example of the German-style bank barn once found throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Designed with German ingenuity to take advantage of the topography, the two-level barn is nestled against a hillside to allow exterior access to the upper hayloft as well as the lower animal pens. These barns exhibit highly skilled craftsmanship, as they typically feature stone retaining walls, a canted queen-truss system, louvered wall openings, and latticework below the roofline to provide natural light and ventilation as well as structural stability.
According to Pulice with the Department of Historic Resources, bank barns are found in Augusta and Rockbridge counties with Botetourt representing the furthest extent to the south and southwest that these barns are found in Virginia. Although several bank barns have been listed on the National Register (either individually or as part of a larger farm complex), these barns are becoming increasingly threatened as they fall into disuse and are allowed to deteriorate with the decline of agriculture in the region.
Following the 2003 demolition of the bank barn on the nearby Thomas D. Kinsey Farm (which was listed on the National Register in 2002), the Rader-Muse Bank Barn may be the last surviving example of this iconic building type in Botetourt County. The barn has not been used for many years and is currently in a ruinous state.
Photo by Matt de Simone
Peck-Figgatt House (Aspen Hill) – 322 East Main Street Fincastle
Located at the corner of East Main and North Hancock Streets, the Peck-Figgatt House (also known as Aspen Hill) stands at a prominent corner in the Fincastle Historic District. Originally built ca. 1822 by John Peck, a large addition was constructed in 1839 by Captain Figgatt, a prominent local banker. The history of the Figgatt family and 19th century Botetourt County is well documented through Nanny Godwin Figgatt’s collection of diaries, letters from her husband, and several family recipe books. Letters between Captain Figgatt and his wife during the Civil War have been chronicled in the play “Dear Nanny.”
The house is designed in an adaptation of the Italian Villa style, also referred to as the Tuscan style. The DHR survey record in 2006 noted the house as being in excellent condition. The survey described the house as follows: “The main block of this brick house is a side gable, two-story structure that holds a one story porch with turned posts, decorative brackets, sawn balustrade, and triglyphs in the frieze. A one story porch is also found at the east side, with identical ornamentation. A gable ell lies on the east side, and a one story addition is at the southwest corner. Polygonal bay windows are found at the south and west sides.”
A separate kitchen building was later connected to the main house with a hyphen that has been infilled with brick.
The house currently stands vacant and in disrepair. Several courses of bricks appear to be separating from the foundation. The once-landscaped yard is also overgrown. This neglected condition of such a historically and architecturally significant house situated on a prominent corner in Fincastle threatens not only the house itself, but the historic character of the town.
Photos courtesy of RVPF
The Darby-Rader House – 102 Darby Road (Route 721) Troutville
The Rader House on Darby Road in Troutville , also known as Maple Grove, was constructed ca. 1830 by the Rader family, well-known brick masons and builders in Botetourt County. The two-story, single-pile, brick house features hand-made bricks laid in Flemish bond, accented by a beveled water table, molded cornice, and jack-arched window and door openings. The one-story entry poorch, which replaced the original full-width porch, has a gable roof supported by chamfered and bracketed posts with a scroll-sawn balustrade. Two additions have been constructed to the rear of the original block.
Samuel, George W. and David Rader were brick masons and builders responsible for building numerous 19th century brick buildings in the county. Similar examples exhibiting their designs and workmanship include the Jonas Graybill House, the Christian Graybill House, the Joseph Graybill House, the George W. Rader House, the Roland Rader House, Hogshead-Corl House, and the Hays House. However, their legacy and contribution to the architectural character of Botetourt County has not been well documented by historians. The Rader House on Darby Road is a typical example of their work, and one of the oldest houses in the Troutville area. It is potentially eligible for listing on the state and national registers.
Unfortunately, the original, ca. 1830 portion of the Rader House is vacant and has been neglected. It is in poor condition, with broken windows and noticeable deterioration in the mortar joints of the brick foundation. This early Troutville building associated with the Rader family will continue to deteriorate without better maintenance and stewardship.
Historic Churches
Often one of the first structures to be built in a city or town, religious buildings represent the communal values and aspirations of its early founders. These buildings are typically located in the heart of the community and serve as part of its institutional framework. As congregations grow, larger and more architecturally refined facilities are constructed that reflect their growing prosperity and programs. In recent years, both nationally and in the Roanoke Valley, church membership is falling. While in the 1940s over 70 percent of Americans were members of churches, synagogues, or mosques, today that figure is less than 50 percent. As membership declines, many congregations suffer from a lack of financial resources that limits their ability to meet the continuing need to maintain the large and historic facilities that house them. The struggle to properly maintain them often leads to deferred maintenance that results in the need for larger, more expensive, and more difficult repairs.
While congregations typically do not want to move from their original location, sometimes it becomes necessary to sell their buildings, ideally to another congregation so the building can continue in its original function. The worst outcome is for the historic buildings to be sold, demolished, and replaced with new development.
An alternative is for these religious buildings to be adapted for another use. That new use will vary based upon the size of the sanctuary and associated buildings; the ability to preserve the historic elements of the building will depend on the new use and how skillfully the building is adapted for it. Nationally, examples of compatible new uses have included single-family residences, apartments/condominiums, museums, libraries, healthcare center, performance venue, offices, community center, art studios, co-working space, coffee shop/restaurant, computer server center, nightclub, and even a fraternity house.
Since RVPF first began listing endangered sites in 1986, 12 churches have been identified as threatened. These include: First Baptist Church, Salem (1998, demolished), Jefferson Street Baptist Church (2002, demolished), Mount Moriah Baptist Church (2003, endangered), St. John AME Church (2012, endangered), Christian Science Church (2017, music venue), and Calvary Baptist Church (2021, apartments planned), as well as six rural churches in Craig and Botetourt Counties (2019). Two additional churches identified this year that face challenges include Fincastle Presbyterian Church and the First Evangelical Presbyterian Church in South Roanoke.
Fincastle Presbyterian Church, which dates back to the 1770s (with renovations and additions in 1813, 1840, and the 1940s) is working diligently to be good stewards of this historic landmark in the face of declining membership. The congregation recognizes the historical and architectural significance of the Greek-Revival style church and is committed to preserving it. They currently undertake much of the maintenance themselves and have recently applied to the National Trust of Historic Places for funding through their Sacred Places grant program.
For more information about these historic locations and the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation, visit https://roanokepreservation.org.
