Faraway Farm
a.k.a. Daniel Ropp House
Rt. 8, Martinsburg, WVThe Daniel Ropp House is significant for its type of unaltered architecture. The Ropp House is a beautiful pre-Civil War, West Virginia Porch type of building constructed ca. 1860. This is a type and style of architecture that can be found throughout Berkeley County from the 1850 to 1880 period.
"West Virginia Porch" style is a vernacular term for our State. Although found in other states, the frequency of this porch style in our area has resulted in the development and adaptation of this term. The term is used to denote a 2-tiered porch (usually recessed) in the ell of a 2-story "L" shaped house. Always constructed in the same manner, the balustrades and posts vary in style and design according to the period and style of the house when constructed. The main stylistic feature of this house is the chamfering with decorative chamfer stops that are found predominately in the mantels throughout. That this chamfering is also found on the exterior porches, both the 2 tiered porch of the ell and the front portico, illustrates the fine continuity of design found throughout this building. This continuity makes this building an outstanding example of early Victorian architecture.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.