A Brief History of Virginia’s Plantation Homes

The History of Virginia’s Plantation Homes

Well into the 1800s, family-owned plantation farms served as the social and economic backbone of Virginia.

Among the most beautiful and famous homes in America, Virginia’s plantation homes – including Mount Vernon and Monticello — stand today as meaningful reminders of life in Virginia from century’s ago and feature a few shared architectural qualities.

Despite the ornate nature of Virginia’s plantation homes, many were built with a working foundation in mind, primarily around farms that produced cash crops such as wheat and tobacco.

As a result of their profit-driven nature, Virginia’s plantation homes were self sufficient communities with many outbuildings and dependencies clustered near the main house.

During this period rivers were the main avenues of travel and commerce, with many of Virginia’s plantation homes built facing the water as a way to more easily greet and accommodate guests.

As was the case with many professions during the American colonial era, architecture was not a widely established practice, so the design of such plantation homes was either co-opted from existing English structures and pattern books. The preference for balance and symmetry is evident in the design and layout of many of Virginia’s plantation homes.

Famous Virginia Plantation Homes

Built in 1723, Shirley is the oldest plantation home in Virginia. Granted to Edwin Hill by Robert “King” Carter, Shirley is known for its famous flying staircase which soars upward three stories — among the only in existence in the United States.

In Charles City, Virginia, the famous Berkley plantation was home to President William Henry Harrison. Among the most notable architectural details at Berkley are the many Oriental design influences, which represent the increasing relations with US and China during the 1800s. The boxwood gardens have long been a staple of Virginia living.

Located on a high bluff over the Potomac River on Virginia’s Northern Neck, Stratford Hall is best known as the birthplace of Robert E Lee. The broad outside stairway leading to the south entrance is among its most notable architectural features.

Home to George Washington, Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia features a broad piazza showcasing views of the nearby Potomac River. Among the most progressive farmers in Colonial America, Washington designed Mount Vernon around an efficient farming model with crop rotation and new fertilization techniques while also ensuring the home could serve as an ongoing venue for entertainment, a particularly important amenity given his status as a statesman.

Gunston Hall, located about 10 miles southwest of Mount Vernon, was built by George Mason, the author of Virginia’a Declaration of Rights. Noted architect William Buckland helped complete Gunston Hall and designed the interior decoration using elaborate wood carvings, said to be the most ornate of any of Virginia’s plantation homes. Similar to Berkley and other plantation homes of the time, the formal dining room of Gunston Hall was designed to reflect an Oriental style that was in fashion at the time.

Kenmore in the City of Fredericksburg is a sturdy brick manor house built in the 1760s. Among the most notable architectural features at Kenmore are the fields and forests on both sides, which flank a central Georgian structure that typifies the symmetric and orderly design ideals of the time. The restoration of the gardens of Kenmore was the first project of the Garden Club of Virginia.

Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson and among the most notable of Virginia’s plantation homes, is located in Charlottesville, Virginia. Monticello was the first house in America to be built with a dome, and took 40 years to construct in large part due to its location at the top of a mountain rather than near a navigable river. The kitchen gardens of Monticello included over 250 varieties of vegetables and herbs, with the dependencies creating an L-shaped frame around the primary residence.

Two miles south of Monticello is Ash Lawn Highland, home to President James Monroe. Thomas Jefferson located the house at Ash Lawn Highland for Monroe, and became known as a cabin castle for its modest exterior and opulent interior.

Located in Loudoun County near Leesburg, Virginia, Oatlands and reflects the best of Greek Revival and Federal architecture.

Completed in the late 1790s by Carter, great grandson of Robert “King” Carter, Oatlands leveraged bricks from onsite kilns and wood from nearby forests. The furnishings of Oatlands reflect an English country style, with items relating the sporting ideals of The Hunt showcased prominently throughout the home.

Arlington House sits high on a bluff overlooking Washington D.C. across the Potomac River. The home of Robert E. Lee, two hundred acres surrounding the house were chosen as a cemetery for Union soldiers which today serves as Arlington National Cemetery. 

And Carter’s Grove Plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia, another part of the vast holdings of Robert “King” Carter, is among the most notable Virginia plantations and stands as one of the few that is privately owned today.

Slavery and the Complicated History of Virginia’s Plantation Homes

A conversation about Virginia’s plantation homes would not be complete without addressing the role of slavery.

Indeed, despite the architectural and aesthetic beauty of Virginia’s plantation homes, nearly all are tainted by the legacy of slavery during America’s Colonial period.

The first known transport of slaves to Virginia dates back to the early 1600s.

For plantation owners who could afford to do so, slaves were used for household tasks as well as for manual labor in agricultural contexts which underpinned the plantation business model.

Slaves often lived in dependencies that surrounded the plantation’s primary residence, offering little in the form of comfort and conveniences for its occupants.

During this period, the continuity of plantation life in Virginia in many ways represented the continuity of America at the time.

Thankfully, modern American values are moving swiftly to rectify the horrors of Virginia’s past through meticulous storytelling and historic preservation of Virginia’s most notable plantation homes. 

As an example, walking tours of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello are presented in context with the story of Sally Hemings, a slave of the Jefferson family and noted concubine of the former President whose story stands as a devastating account of the horrors of life as a slave.

In Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee High School has been renamed John R. Lewis High School to honor the eponymous American politician and civil rights activist.

And on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, a multi-year effort to remove statues honoring notable members of the Confederate Army is nearing completion.

In conclusion, Virginia’s plantation homes are relics of a formative period in American history while also serving as monuments of a darker time.

And as we reflect on the complicated history of Virginia’s plantation homes, many remain meticulously preserved and serve today as unique opportunities to learn about the complicated history of America at large.