Aurora (the Pink House)
Aurora, also known as the “Pink House,” is a favorite site in Patrick County, close to Spencer.
Aurora is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register (1990) and the National Registry of Historic Places (1991).
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources says this about Aurora: It “is a classic example the Italian Villa style popularized by the pattern books of architectural theorist Andrew Jackson Downing.
“Employing a low hipped roof with central gable and long veranda, the exterior closely resembles Design XXVII, ‘A small Country House for the Southern States,’ in Downing’s ‘Architecture of Country Houses’ (1850). Downing wrote that this design ‘affords, in its broadly projecting roof and long extended veranda, that ample shade, so indispensable to all dwellings in a southern climate.’ The veranda of Aurora was given distinction here by being executed in decorative cast iron.
“The Patrick County house was built around 1853 for Thomas Jefferson Penn, a prominent farmer, merchant, and tobacconist. Penn’s son, Frank Reid Penn, founded F.R. & G. Penn Co., which was eventually acquired by tobacco magnate James Duke to form the American Tobacco Company.”
It is one of a dozen Patrick County places on the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Registry of Historic Places says this about Patrick County:
“Significant places include Reynolds Homestead, Stuart, J.E.B., Birthplace, Bob White Covered Bridge, Jack's Creek Covered Bridge and Patrick County Courthouse.
“Several famous people are associated with these Patrick County historic places including Richard Joshua Reynolds, Stuart, James Ewell Brown and et al..
“Some of the country's most notable architects helped create the Patrick County places including Hardin W. Reynolds, Walter Weaver, Abram Staples, Charlie Vaughan, William Barnard, C.Y. Thomas, Jesse Blackard, Lucian Brim and Lewis Turner. Prominent architectural styles found in Patrick Country are Gothic Revival, Greek Revival and Bungalow/Craftsman. “
Photo by Mike Pulice of DHR, 2007