The great architectural significance of Albemarle County and Charlottesville, Virginia, rests, not surprisingly, on the continuing influence of Thomas Jefferson. Not only did Jefferson design the State Capitol in Richmond, his home Monticello, his country retreat Poplar Forest, and the University of Virginia; after his death, master builders continued to construct important examples of Jeffersonian classicism in Albemarle County and beyond.

But what is less well known are the many important examples of other architectural idioms built in this Piedmont Virginia county, many by...