Solitude (Blacksburg, Virginia)

Solitude
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register
Solitude, February 2012
Location	Greenhouse Rd. on Virginia Polytechnic Institute campus, Blacksburg, Virginia
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	c. 1808 (1808)
Architectural style	Hall-parlor;Single-pile
NRHP reference No.	89000363
VLR No.	150-0100-0003
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 5, 1989
Designated VLR	June 21, 1988

Solitude is a historic home located on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Virginia. The earliest section was built about 1808, and expanded through the mid-19th century. It is a two-story, "L"-shaped, five bay, log and frame dwelling with a hipped roof. Also on the property are the contributing stone spring house with log superstructure and log kitchen or office. In 1872, the Solitude land became the central campus of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, and the house, after the death of its owner in the following decade, was used for faculty housing until the 1970s, when it became a classroom and office facility. The house is situated in a landscaped park adjacent to the central campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

After Solitude's listing on NRHP, decade-long research and archaeology commenced to further study the main house, property, and overall site to extrapolate further historical information and evaluate what would be needed to restore the house and outbuildings. These efforts culminated in a 2000 Master's thesis by Michael Pulice, a then-Master's of Science candidate in Virginia Tech's Architecture Department, now the chief architectural historian for the Western Regional office (Salem, VA) of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Pulice concluded in his thesis that the remaining log outbuilding, long believed to be either a doctor's office or kitchen, is a surviving slave cabin and servants quarters.