Family tradition holds that Judge Archibald Stuart, a Virginia legislator and friend of Thomas Jefferson, derived either the plans or general ideas for his house from Jefferson. This brick house is an early example of a temple-form building with a two-story, pedimented portico. Although Dabney Cosby was too young to have been a principal mason at his house, Stuart recommended Cosby to Jefferson in 1819 for work as a brick mason at the University of Virginia. Part of the charm of this impressive house is derived from its regional interpretation of classical details. The intricate Chinese wooden lattice gate is original. Stuart's c. 1785 law office with its gambrel roof is located north of the house.