I 

.. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

• 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 

historic structure report 

historic data section 

november 1981 

Ptrg~ lu.:> 

APPOMATTOX COU 

THE .. SWEEN 

NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK/VIRGINIA 

D-l?;;cJ 

ON MICROFILM 
. ·' 

I 

I 

I 

I .I ·I 

I I· I· 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I I. 
1-

I 

' 

I 

I' 

I. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

t· 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

HJSTOR IC STRUCTURE REPORT 

HISTORICAL DATA SECTION 

THE .. SWEENEY PRIZERY11 

APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK 

APPOMATTOX, VIRGINIA 

PACKAGE NO. 103 (PROJECT TYPE 35) 

By 

Harlan D. Unrau 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

DENVER SERVICE CENTER 

MID-ATLANTIC/NORTH ATLANTIC TEAM 

BRANCH OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION 

DENVER, COLORADO 

. .. 
1-

I 

I 

I .I 

I 

I 1: ,, 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I ·I 

I 
I 

' , 

T· 

1M' L CA/IIIIIJII!IC 

I l)tiJ IrA/Ill MIHIIC 

JIC~OII611 NIU TAr£1111 

4A.rAII'6/flll Klrtl/6/11 

4&-rAII'C"/11 f tAW IIFTIU 

1.•LOII'6tr 11 ro~~r 

• 

•ttWMrY TAIL- AIITCSELLUM 

f MCUCS' 1rn« t ICSIDCIItC 

.PRYOII Wlfi.NY HO"S& 

IZ.WILLIAMI1tiSSCIII LOll N() U!l& 

II.Z&I!i&LL IIOU~£ 

7 • 9 

• 

... A~ L8AN l&nlf/~fl$~6 

I C. Me LIT AN .l"lrC:N/lN 

10 II 

OA._V/l.tl! --

~ 

n.JIJIIII llfiiS£11 1101/!IC 

ll!llllftU.Nil£11 TIIIAN&t £ 

IIP£LIIS IIIJU!IC 

l .. tAt'N£ IIIJU!I£ 

.I.D.AIG L&AN .SI'.If'IINr.S' quA.URS 

1.1.. IIDWLJII-IlAJIS lltAtlfllllfiTII !1/IIJP 

a•. J . II. riLL lA- 110111.1& 

t•I/IIIIJ/11 «AIJlMt' 30.1,£lNLY PIIIZ&teY 

I?A.KtrLLY 16LL 

tr H .L LV IUtr .. .6. :11 11,,,.,,11 !N/fte/lr. H.,,. ,.CNA&. N.()IU.UtD) 

~lJ TI88S IIDIM6 

PAliK IIQIINIJAIIY ----- ~O CIJtliiiA/11 --· I.C. l!I&CLL !ITAaLtr 

U. WOOII$01# LAW ()I'I'IC. 

14-I,LLIS l~l. tAII/N 

a_,. MltL£11 SWLlMY llfUJS£ 

11JIJ£ SWCt.IIY IIQUSl fNIJtJ 

M/I&IIARU y SWl£MY 1/()U$£ 

lf~I)AIMC/1 IIOU.Str 

JU.P&trta8 !ITA,.Ltr 

IIA.II'ItLIAitl /ltiiiU IIIOP 

.... WILLIAM tlfJIU/t IILACIUAIITN ~"Q" 

41'. T.lr£1111 ./IIIII A Nr:-' •rtU. 

, IADDI.l 114 IJHJII 

4C. TAII£/111 tiAII 

~ 'DtDJAIL JITl <-tr·t••-J ~~ ,,.,,,..,_,111 sii(N> 

llflAO I LAIIC 

W()IJDLANf) (rill£ 

1111/lDINt; ( A'£Y NUM.£11 

(.SlC IMSCIIT liST) 

W£LL 

C£MCTCIIY 

IIJT£~ .' 1 Til£ trll() IS AISUII£0 ( N-4!1 A/IJ 11£L4TifJN 

TtJ S/1/W~ Y (()1)/IDIA/ATl.$. 

i YILLA6C 411£4 NOr SNIJ,M IN DCrAIL 

C()MTIJUIIIMTCIIIIAL ltlrC£T-IJATUM· S£11 Ll.l'lL 

• NPJ SU/III£Y ( MlttiL£11 MAPS {APPn•Arrt»' ct>.,NTY) 

• 

BASIC DATA: NHP ACH 2007-D 

1'$ /6 ,, 7o Jl 

J( 

0 

p 

15 16 , 18 / 9 20 21 

II 

24 

' uJ. N. ~''-'"'~'i~Wi 

Z7 

• 

I 

i 

) 

l' 

l9 

Jo )/ 

0 

54 , 

ON 

410 .to ,.., • 115 ..... ,. 

400.00 Feet : 111.92 ..... ,. 

HISTORICAL BASE 

1962 

APPOMATTOX COURT HOUSE 

NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK 

Appomettox County 

VIRGINIA 

UNITED JrATEI OEI'AIITIIENT OF THE INTEIIIOII/NATIONAL I'AIIK IEIIVICE 

I 
I 

.I 

I 

I 

'1. 

I 

I 

I 

J: 

I 

I 

I· 

I 

I 

I 
~---

I, 

I 

I, 

I 

I 

I 

I. 

I 

I 

I 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Page ~o .. 

Preface. . . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . . • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Statement of Historical Significance . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Administrative Data. • • • • • . . .. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Introduction . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Chapter One 

Brief Description of the Use of a Prizery in the Tobacco 

Culture of Antebellum Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 

Chapter Two \ 

A Short -History of the usweeney Prizery 11 Until 1936 . . . • • • • 

Chapter Three 

T·he 11Sweeney Prizery11 Under the National Park Service . . . . . . 

Chapter Four . 

Folklore, Traditions, and Undocumented Theories Concerning the 

usweeney Prizeryu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Recommendations .. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Appendixes 

A. St. Clair or Floor House: Notes on Structure, April 26, . 1940 

B. Interior Measurements I 

11Sweeney Prizery", July 15, 1958 . • • 

C. Classified Structure FieJd Inventory Report - March 1976. . . 

Annotated Bibliography . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Photographs. .. . . . . . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

v 

. .. V111 · 

. 

IX 

X 

1 

3 

9 

25 

31 

37 

~0 

43 

46 

47 

55 
.. 

.. 

LIST OF PHOTOGRA·PHS 

·Photograph No. ·1 

U:p-Hill Elevation, 11Sweeney ·prizery, 11 April 30, l959 

photograph No. 2 

Dow.n-Hi'll El:evation; 11Swe·eney P·r·ize·ry, .. A·pril 30, 1959 

.Photo.grap:h .·No. 3 . 

Down-Hill Elevation, ·"Sweeney Prizery 1

11 -April 30, 195·9 

Photo·graph ·No. 4 

'End ·.Elevation - F.rom North, "S·w·eeney .Prizery ,

11 A·p·ri.l 30, 1959 

Photogra.ph No. 5 

'En.d Ele·vation - From South I 

11Sweeney P·riz·ery·,·u A·pril 3.0 I 1959 

·P·hotog.raph N·o •. 6 

End Elevation from North, "Sweeney .P·ri.z.ery ,·" April 30, 1959 

Photogra_ph ·No. 7 

Stabilization Wor:k Underway on -Dow.n-Hil1 ·Eievatio·n, "Sweeney 

P·r i ~e.ry , " May 1959 

·Photograph ·No. 8 

Completed Stab·il.ization Work on ·u.p-HiH .E.Ievati.on., ,.Sweeney Prizery,., 

June l6, 1959 

hotograph No. ~ 

·Down-·Hill Elevation, 11Sweeney Pr.i.z:e.ry, u 1978 

Photograp·h ·No. lO 

·End :E·levation from North, Sweeney .Pr·izery ,

11 1978 

Photograph ·No. 11 

Up-Hif.f ·Elevation, "Sw.eeney Prizery, 11 1978 

Photograph No. 12 

Up-HiU E1evation, 11 Sw.e·eney Prizery, 11 l978 

vi 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I . 

2. 

LIST OF MAPS 

lJ. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 11 Historical 

Base, 1962, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, 

Appomattox County, Virginia," by Denver Service Center, May 1976. 

U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 11 Status of 

Property, Appomattox Court House National Battlefield Site, 

Appomattox Court House, Virginia," May 3, 1937. 

.. VJJ 
; ' 

. I 

PREFACE 

~ 

This historic structure report (historical data section) has been . . 

prepared to satisfy in part the research needs as stated in the task I • • 

directive (dated· November 26, 1979; amended by memorandum May 12, 

1980) concern1ng the 11Sweeney Prizery" at Appomattox Court House 

National H·istorical ·Park under Package No. 103 (P!"oject Type 35). The 

historical data section is intended to provide basic data for the 

stabilization/preservation treatment of the structure and for the future 

interpretation of the site. 

A number of persons have assisted in the preparation of this report. . . . . . . 't . ' • . . 

Special thanks are due to Superi·ntendent Luis F. Garcia-Curbelo and his 

staff for p-roviding helpful direction to the project. Ronald Wilson, 

Historian, ahd Raymond Godsey, Chief 

' i . . . . 

in taking me on a tour of the Prizery, . of the research required for the 

of Maintenance, were most helpful 

providing insights into the nature 

report, discussing the various .. r ' repositories and source materials to be corisu·lted, and suggestin·g local 

historians that should be interviewed. 

Harlan D. Unrau 

June 23, 1980 

.. - VIII 

I -

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

STATEMENT OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE 

The 11 5weeney Prizery, 11 a tobacco barn built in the late eighteenth 

or early nineteenth century in which tobacco was packed or prized in 

hogsheads and which was converted to use as a farm tenant house in the 

nineteenth century, is significant primarily because of its association with 

the events just prior to General Robert E. Lee's surrender of the Army 

of Northern Virginia to General Ufysses S. ~rant at Appomattox Court 

House on April 9, 1865, thus ending four years of bloody civil strife. On 

Saturday,· April 8, Lee's ragged veterans trudged over the muddy roads 

of Appomattox County, desperately seeking to escape the grasp of Grant's 

ever-lengthening arm. That night Confederate soldiers encamped over a 

wide area around Appomattox Court House, encompassing Clover Hill, the 

Mariah Wright farm, and 11 Pieasant Retreat, 11 the estate owned by Major 

Joel Walker Flood, Jr., on which the 11 Sweeney Prizery11 was located. At 

daybreak on Palm Sunday, April 9, the Confederates attacked across the 

field west of the village in an effort to continue their escape toward 

Danville. They brushed the federal cavalry aside only to disclose strong 

units of blue-coated infantrymen. Before noon, Union infantry, spread in 

a skirmish line, advanced north across the Wright farm to the south edge 

of town. A few minutes later, one of Lee's officers came riding out, 

bearing a white flag of truce. The Union infantry halted its advances, 

and General Lee and General Grant rode. into town to meet in the home of 

Wiln1er McLean and to arrange the surrender terms. 

. 

JX 
ADMINISTRATIVE DATA 

a.. T.he Sweeney Prizery, Building Number 28, situated on land owned 

by the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and located 

about 2000 feet east of Virginia State Route No. 24 and about 900 

feet north of the Appomattox River, is a prime historic st.ructure for 

which exterior restoration and adaptive interior restoration have 

·been proposed as recorded in the List of Classified Structures. 

b. The proposed use is adaptation for an environmental study center. 

c. The General Management Plan as approved in September, 1977, states 

on page 93 that 11 The Sweeney Prizery will be stabilized for adaptive 

use as an environmental study areau. 

·d.. The Sweeney Prizery is reported to be · one of the oldest structures 

in th~ Appomattox ar.ea dating back to the 18th Century. While it 

played only a minor role in the surre_nder, it i~ . . a prime historic 

structure.. The exterior restoration necessary should be completed 

in as simple a manner as possible for it is to be assumed that in its 

original condition it was somewhat crude and basic. This restoration 

will ensure the historic scene, also being desirable for' interpretive 

purposes because of the adaptive interior restoration for an 

environmental study center. 

X 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
~- --------:----------

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

" ' 

INTRODUCTION 
A study of the SQ-call·.ed "Sweeney Prizery 11 is fraught with r ... : 

\ ~ i 

difficulties. One of the foremost problems is th.e virtual absence of a.ny 

documentatio.n re,lating to the origi.nal construction and the early 

Qwner.ship and utilila.tion of th.~ structure. The l.a.ck of documen.tatien is 

the r~sult of t.wo local county court~ouse fi-res in wh.ich nearly a.ll co~nty 

la.nd:, :.Proo.at:e, and ~Qurt rec.ord,s we,~e d~st.royed. Th:e Prizer'y b·uildi.ng 

was loc~ted in Buc·k.ingham County until the formation of A.p-pomattox I 

County in 1845 wh.~n the land· on w,hich it was tocated was included in the '' 

new county. l_n 1869 the Buckinghaf'D County c·ourt House was devastated 

by fire, destroying all county records datin.g back to 1761 when the 

county was organized with the· exception of two surveyor plat books. 

Later in 1892 the Appomattox County Court House burne·d and most of its 

records dati.ng back to 1845 were destroyed w·ith the exception of the 

county la:nd . books .. 1 The ab-sence of county records., as wefl as the lack 

of any local .~r~a newspa.pe-rs .until the late nineteenth century and the 

lack of well-documented published or printed town or county histories, ' ' 

makes a historical study of the Prizery d·ifficult. As a resu.lt, a body of 

'· • I . • 

local tradition, · folklore, ~nd unsubstantiated theories. have grown up 

about the original construction and the early utilization and ownership of 

the Prizery. 

Hence the purpose of this report will be to present both the little 

available documentary mate.rial and the unsubstantiated fo1k1ore associated 

with the Prizery.. Since a formal study of the Prizery has never been 

undertaken it is intended that this study will prese.nt a comprehensive 

review of the documentary history of the building and a brief evaluation 

of the merits of the various stories that have grown up around the 

structure. 

I. In 1761 Buckingham County was organized out of a portion of 

Albemarle County and included· the land of present Appomattox County 

lying north of the Appomattox River. Later in 1845 Appomattox County 

was formed out of portions of Buckingham, Charlotte, Campbell 1 and 

Prince Edward Counties. John .Hammond Moore 1 u Appomattox Court 1-touse 

-Community, Village, and Families, 1845-1870, 11 pp. 2-9, and Polly Jones, 

~istorical Sketch 2f Buc!<ir:'gh_am County, Virgin.i~ ([Richmond], 1929) 1 pp. -10. . 

2 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

CHAPTER ONE 

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE USE OF A PRIZERY IN THE TOBACCO CULTURE 

OF ANTEBELLUM VJRGINIA. 

\ 
' 

Before the study of the historical evolution of the "Sweeney Prizery 11 

is commenced, it ;is essential that one .unqerstands the role of a prizery in 

the .tobacco c~lture of antebellum Virginia. The growing and curing of 

tobacco in the antebellum period was an arduous year-round task. 

According to one writer I the general process of tobacco culture an'd 

curing ir1cluqed .the following principal tasks: 

' 

· .... In January and February the tedious pre.paration of the 

plant-bed was carried on; in March and April preparation of the 

tobacco field by breaking the land and making tobac.co hills for 

the reception of the .tende·r plants from the plant beds occupied 

the workers; in May sowing plaster and other fertilizer on the 

hills and fighting flies kept every worker busy; i.n June the 

.tedious work of transplanti~g the plants from the beds to 

·hills· in the .tobacco field took place; in July and August 

plants were . plowed, hoed, topped, suckered and wormed; 

Sep~ember the plants were cut and hung on tobacco sticks; 

October the housing and curing .w.ent on; in November the 

lea,ves .were stripped from the cured plants in the tobacco house 

the 

the 

• tn 

. 1n 

and tied in neat bundles as ·~hands," and finally in Decemb·er 

were, packed in hogsheads for the market. 2 

After the tobacco was cured, ·the leaves were stripped from the 

cured plants in the .tobacco 11 curing11 barn and tied in neat bundles as 

11 hands. 113 A 11 hand11 of tobacco usually contained about fourteen leaves, 

2. ·charles Dudley Eaves, The Virgit]ia Tobacco t .. ndustry:: 1780-1860 

(Lubbock, 1945), p .. 30. Other works that should be consulted for a 

more thorough study of the culture and industry associated with the 

growth of tobacco are: B. W. Arnold, Jr., History 2.f the Tobacco 

.1 ndustry · l!J. ·virginia from 1860 to 1894 (Baltimore; 1897); Meyer Jacobstein, 

The Tobacco I rJdustr.y l!J. the LJnited States (New York, 1907); and Nannie 

May Tilley, The Bri9,ht Tobacco IndustrY:, 1860-1929 (Chapel Hill, 1948). 

3. Two of the best sources on the historical development and 

architectural characteristics of tobacco "curing" barns are Charles 

Klamkin, Barns: Their Hist~ryL Preservation, and Restoration (New 

York, 1973), pp. 15, 53, 57-59, 74-80, and Eric Sloames, An Age of 

Barns (New York, 1973), n.p. 

4 

I~ 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

although in some instances it had more depending on the size of the 

leaves. The leaves to form a "hand 11 were arranged with their stem-ends 

together so as to be as even as possible. Then the poorest stripped leaf 

was wrapped around the stems. The 11 hands 11 were then packed 1n bulk 

along the wall tables with the leaf points against the wall. In this 

condition the tobacco underwent a sweat and fermentation. When the 

sweat was complete, it was known by the fact that the tobacco had 

become sweet and sound, with the juices permanently formed in the body 

of the leaf. It would then stretch without breaking and was moist enough 

to be pressed into hogsheads or boxes. 

In the stripping process, the tobacco was carefully assorted into at 

least three classes -- long, short, and lugs. Dark and l·ight tobaccos . . were also separated, thus forming a fourth class. The long and short 

classes were tied up into neat bundles of about six or eight leaves, all 

being nearly of the same length , while the lugs were tied into much 

larg~r bundles. As the tobacco was stripped, it was bulked down until a 

sufficient amount was procured to commence pressing. Then it was 

rehung in uniform and open order and allowed to remain until . the leaf 

and stem were thoroughly dry. As soon as it could be handled without 

much breaking, the tobacco was taken down and carried to a prize barn 

which was usuafJy located nearby. 

The prize barn, or prizery as · it came to be popularly called, was 

the structure in which the tobacco was neatly bulked, pressed, and 

heavily weighted in hogsheads. The size of the hogsheads, as prescribed 

by law, were forty inches in the head and fifty-two in length. All types 

of wood were used to build hogsheads, but the ·kinds that were 

considered best were those that ~ere strong and weighed light, such .as 

gum, beech, birch, · or poplar. However, staves made of red oak and 

other oaks were also used . The wood for a hogshead usually weigh~d 

approximately 100 pounds. 

When the tobacco was found to be in good order at the prize barn, 

packing it into hogsheads w.as beg~n ~n \he nex~ mild day . The process l , I. • 

of packing the tobacco leaf into the hqgshead was called prizing. The 

prizing process commenced when 

5 
a man inside [the hogshead] with shoes off, laid the bundles in 

a circt·e, ·beginning in the middle, and each circle was extended 

until the outer circle touched the staves of the hogsheads. A . . 

singl·e row of bundles was then laid all around the edge on the 

h·eads of the last circle, then across ·· the; hogshead . in parallel 

rows, the middle ·being always raised a little higher than the· 

outer edge. This was called a course , and these courses were 

continu·ed until the hogshead was filled. The man who was 

packing pressed with his :knees each ·bundle, in each ·course, as 

he placed it, and often stood upon his feet and tramped he·avily 

but cautiously, all around and across so as to get in as much 

as possibl·e. The hogshead weighed from nine hundred to one 

thow·sand pounds, i·f well ·hand-.pac:ked, an·d in fine order~ 4 

When the hogsh·ead was ·fi'lled, the .top was placed on the tobacco. 

P·ressure ·.w-as theA applied to th·e tobacco with the use of ·powerful wooden 

levers (or in later years wooden or iron screws) located in the prize bar.n 

to .press the tobacco :ev.enly and tightly into the container. The .wooden 

levers consisted of an u·pright post to which ·was attached one end of .· a 

long pole with the other end of the pole weighted with heavy weights. 

Under the pole was a bar which rested on the top of the hogshead. 

When one end of the .pole was weighted sufficiently, the bar pressed the 

top of the hogshead downward, packing the tobacco much tighter than it 

could be packed by hand. Then more tobacco was put into the hogshead 

until it was again full and the pac.king or prizing process was repeated 

until no more tobacco could be gotten into the hogshead. The tobacco 

was kept on the farm until the late spring or early summer when it was 

taken to market. 5 

4. Eaves, Virginia TobC;~cco Industry, p. 44. 

5. Ibid., p. 44; The Farmville Herald, Today and Yesterday ill the 

Heart ~ Virginia (Farmville, 1935), pp .. 15~-152; and Herbert Clarence 

Bradshaw, His tory ~ Prince Edward County, Virginia (Richmond, 1955), 

pp. 300, 513-514, 774. 

6 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

The task of prizing tobacco and hence the use of prize barns fell 

into gradual disuse after the. 1830s when loose or leaf tobacco that was not 

packed in hogsheads began to be marketed in increasing quantities. Loose 

or unpacked tobacco could be sold about six months earlier than tobacco 

that· was packed in hogsheads because the delay incident to prizing was 

eliminated. By 1860 approximately 25 percent of the Virginia tobacco crop 

was sold in this manner. After the Civil War the railroads contributed to 

the rising popularity of seJJing loose leaf tobacco by taking the unpacked 

tobacco leaf to inspectors and commission houses for sale, thus leading to 

the development of large central tobacco exchanges in the principal cities 

located near the main tobacco-growing regions. Thus, the prizing 

process was virtually eliminated in the decade after the Civil War. 6 

6. · Eaves, Virginia Tobacco lndustr~, pp. 75-76. According to 

Raymond Godsey, Chief of Maintenance at Appomattox Court House 

National Historical Park, there were . at least two prizeries still in 

operation in Appomattox in the tate 1920s and early 1930s. However, it 

should be . noted that both of these prizeries were more of a commercial 

type, as compared with the farm-related 11 Sweeney Prizery. 11 In the 

antebellum period Buckingham County was the fifth leading tobacco 

producing county in Virginia. Lynchburg, some twenty mires west of 

Appomattox Court House, was the third largest tobacco manufacturing city 

in Virginia, the other major marketing and produ~tion centers being 

Richmond, Petersburg, Clarksville, and Danville. Eaves, Virginia 

Tobacco Industry, pp. 75-76, 109. 

7 
1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

0 

CHAPTER TWO 

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE 11 SWEENEY PRIZERY11 UNTIL 1936. 

.. 
A. Chain of Title to Property · on which Prizery is Located. 

On December 17, 1936, Joel West Flood and his wife, Dorothy Evans 

Flood, sold the property on which the 11 Sweeney Prizery" is located to the 

United States Government for inclusion in the Appomattox Court House 

National Historical Monument, recently authorized by an Act of Congress 

on August 13, 1935 ( 49 Stat. 613). The property conveyed in the 

transaction consisted of 356.9 acres, and the cost to the government for 

acquiring the parcel amounted to $8,922. 50. 7 

The property conveyed by lhe Floods to the lJnited States was a 

portion of the tand that Joel West Flood had inherited from his father, Joel 

Walker Flood, Jr. Prior to his death on November I, 1916, Joel Walker 

Flood, Jr., had drawn up a will dividing his large estate and )and 

hot dings 1 amounting to some 3, 976 acres of land in Amherst and 

Appomattox Counties, among his third wife, Sallie Whitman (Delk) Flood, 

and. three children, Henry Delaware Flood, Joel West Flood, and Eliza 

Balling Byrd. According to the terms of the will, which was executed on 

November l8, 1920, Joel West Flood received from his father 

in fee simple my South and North Clifton farms tn Appomattox 

County, conta\ning by Swans survey, Four Hundred and 

seventy eight acres, the Runnyrnede farm containing Three 

Hundred and eight acres, by Allisons recent survey on file, the 

Red Ha)l farm containing 264 acres, these tracts being all of the 

land that own on the east side of the Lynchburg and 

Richmond road. 

7. Deed 1 Joel W. Flood and Dorothy Evans Flood to lJnited States of 

America, December 17, 1936, Appomattox County Deed Book 36 1 Folios 

120-122. In 1934 the Appomattox County land records indicate that Joel 

West Flood owned I ,837-1/2 acres of land valued at $5 per acre. The total 

value of the land was $9' 188 and the total value of the bui\dings on the 

land amounted to $1,500. That year he paid $160.32 in county and 

district levies on the total value or the land and buildings.. Land Book, 

1934, Appomattox County, Folio 10, Appomattox County Court House. 

10 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

In addition, he also received in life estate the I,0~~-9cre f~rm 1 pri~inally 

known as 11 Rocky Farm" and later c~1led "E!dofl," on whjch his father I 

resided at the time of his death# Th~ mansion ho~~e . of this farm was 

lc>cated approximately 1-1/4 miles nor~hwest of the Pri~ery on th~ west side 

8 of the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Rpad. 

'•' . 

8. Will, Joel W. Flood, March ~6, 1913 (revised A~gust 24, 1914), 

Appomattox County Will Book I, Folip~ ~13~216, ~nd Qe~d, ~etw~~n Ht 0. 

Flood and Anne P. Flood, Joel Wes~ Flood, .e. BQUing Syr~ l~n~ R. ~· 

Byrd, and Sallie W. Flood, Appomattox County Oeeq ~ook 21, Foli~s 

31-35. Joel West Flood negotiated a mortgage of $7,500 wi~h ~ne Federal 

Land Bank of Baltimore to purchase th~ Clifton, Runnymede~ and Red 

Hall rarms . Mortgage, Joel West Floog to Fedt3ral ~and BQnk ·of Salti~Qre, 

September 28, 1920, Appomattox County De.ed Book 21, Foli~s 3;.-38. 

11 
,fA 

- - --

u. s. Department of the Interior I National Park Service, 11Status of Property I Appomattox 

Court House National Battlefield Site, Appomattox Court House, Virginia, 11 May 3, 1937. 

.. I .,_. 

l 

, 

-

,· ~ 

l \A. ~ --- ..... ~ :r~u.. 

~·~~D~ 

-. 

I. 

i~ 

TucT 1•1 

4.t' )t' 

{,GA. 

7~~ 

-o "' Me,. · ~ 

f LOOO ' t6 .CV..o .. a.,~, ... , 

JVV 

~ 

- -

F 

~ 

.. ~. 

~~~ 

~~ 

Ta.Aet w~ 

C.l..aL~T 

.__ ~· 'T&ACT ,_ 

AflPo\~/1 .... . -J.--· ' ;;! 1 r# 

•USMC 

hJIVM••t 

F 

T&N:T ._ f l.ft.'fltC&I,.._ 

C.»"ka LOT 

...,. 

h 

V\.fV .. 

. TLAC! 1M 

11 

, 

~ I I 

T.&.ACT 1St 

f'l.ooD e F'IUtJIOM 

... ,,. 

~ 

b 

F l I 

,If, 

.. 'T lSl. 

OC\. '\/. ~l.OOO 

3J&., A 

JV'u 

i R..ACT 

I'SS 

14~ J .. OT LINDEll. OPTIOM 

,., 

ISO 

\40 . ~Ot At(aPttO 

••• 70 •~: 1:>~~ oro 

1Y Cou .. TY Coua.t 

~H f!~0l~~):T'R1U I ! : I' t • ,I ' · fl I ::a "' I, M' l ~"" ~I : • r. !.~,' ~ ~ ~ .. ·f' •t ~ tl 8 0 .;. ~J '<..·.) cJ !J ~ 

N. •• ,LM.O h'f. gg- L - 0 5 i A 7 ij 5 Of Pt.~i'E.iLTY 

~ A PPOMAT\OX COUR..t liOU ~t. NAliOAL 6ATTlt:fi£LD ~ITE. A?POMATTOX Coua..t House 'ltsu;&N&A 

... i ~·er-e ~ -. • c-~"flll . . " :-. Ap ?L'CPALro ev Tf-1£. ~t.S£ TT~t ME tc T ~OMUti~TUtro• 

Sc.l~E 1'- tO CMS. 

~Ay .3 '''7 

- - - - - - - - - IIIII --

- 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

B. History of the Prizery Under the Ownership of the Floods. 

The historical evolution of the Prizery and its ownership prior to 

that of Joel Wat ker Flood cannot be pos itively documented because of the 

destruction by fire of the Buckingham Court House in 1869 and the 

Appomattox Court House in 1892 . However, the land books of Appomattox 

County dating back to 1845 and two surveyor's plat books for Buckingham 

County dating back to 1762 were not. destroyed in the fires. These 

records, together with census and car tog raph ic documentation and 

fragmentary materials cancerning the early history of the Flood family in 

south-central Virginia, permit one to make some reasonable inferences 

about the construction, historical evolution, and utilization of the Prizery 

on the extensive Flood estate in present Appomattox County. 

Joef West Flood, who sold the property on which the Prizery is 

located to the United States Governn·•ent JJ1 December 1936, was the 

descendent of John FJood, a captain in the British Navy who, according 

to some accounts, settled in the corporation of Henrico and afterwards 

Surrey County, Virginia, before establishing his residence in Albemarle 

County sometime between 1740 and 1755. In October 1755 a 295-acre parcel 

of land was surveyed for him by Thomas Turpin . The property was 

located .. on the branches of Hunts and on both sides of Glovers Road." 

His first occupation seems to have been that of an Indian interpreter, and 

during the French and Indian War he rose to the rank of lieutenant 

colonel. 9 

According to several sources, it is probable that the 295-acre tract 

was located 1n that part of Alben1arle County that became part of 

Buckingham County in 1761. John Flood was listed as a 11 tithable" in 

various Buckingham County records as early as 1773-74. In Margaret A . 

9. Surveyors 1 Book, No. I, Part 2, 1756-1790, Albemarle County, Folio 

2A, Albemarle County Court House, Charfottesvi lie; The American 

Historical Society, History 2.! Virginia (6 vols., Chic.ago, 1924), VI, 313; 

Lyon Gardiner Tyler, ed, Men ~ Mark in Virginia (6 vols., Washington, 

1907), 11, fiB; and Bishop Meade, Old Churches, Ministers and Families of 

Virgini~ (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1940), I I, 173. 

13 
Pennington and Lorna S. Scott's 11 The Courthouse Burned ", it is 

stated that, according to word of mouth, the origina\ owner of Locust 

Grove, an 8-room frame house located one mile east of Sprouses Corner 

just off Route 60' was 11 Captain John Flood of the British Navy I who 

removed to Virginia and fought in the French and Indian War. u

10 

Henry Flood (1755-1827), the son of John, served in the American 

War for Independence and attained the rank of major. After the 

hostilities were over he settled in that portion of Buckingham County that 

became a part of Appomattox County in 1845.. In January 1786 a 194-acre 

parcel of land was surveyed for him in Buckingham County by John 

Pattison, and in 1786-87 he was listed in various re.cords as owning one 

slave. 11 

Although the . prectse location of the t94-acre tract cannot be 

documented, it probabty was the original parcel of land that later 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I developed into the extensive Flood family estate in Appomattox County. 

By 1805 Henry Flood was operating a mill and dam on the Appomattox 

River, known popularly as Flood's Mill, located east of what later would 

become the Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road. It is possible that he built 

the 11Sweeney Prizeryu about this time because of its location on the hill 

just north of the mill and dam site. Although this determination cannot I 

10. Robert E. and lsabel B. Woodson, comps., Virginia Tithables From 

Burned Record Counties (Richmond, 1970), n.p . ; Augusta B. Fothergill 

and John Mark Naugle, camps., Vtrginia Tax Payers, 1782-87, Other Than 

Those Published ~ the United States Census Bureau (Baltimore, 19'66), 

p. 44; and Margaret A. Pennington and Lorna S. Scott, 11 The Courthouse 

Burned "((Lynchburg], 1977), p. 150. 

11. Surveyor's Plat Book, Buckingharn County, Virginia, 1783-1799, Folio 

16, and Surveyor•s Book, 1762- 1814, 1872-1909, Buckingham County, Folio 

30, Buckingham Court House. The two surveyors• books are the only 

known records to have survived the Buckingham Court House fire in · 1869. 

The books contain the boundary descriptions of each survey but do not 

contain any cross-references or overall county plat surveys, thus making 

it impossible to determine the precjse location of the individual surveys in 

the county. Also see American His tori cat Society, History 2! Vir£Jinia, 

VI, 313; Fothergill and Naugle, Virginia Tax Payers, p. 44; and Nathaniel 

Ragland Featherston, The t11stor-x of Appomattox, Virginia (Marceline, 

1948) , p . '63 . 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

be documented, it would have been a good location for a prizery because 

of its proximity to well-traveled roads and the dam and mill site on the 

river in a county that was emerging as the fifth leading Virginia county 

. t b d t• 12 1n o acco pro uc 1on. 

In 1810 Henry Flood, who had already become a man of some means 

and had acquired considerable landholdings in the area, built a large, 

square brick mansion, often referred to as the 11 01d Home, 11 for his son 

Dr. Joel Walker Flood (1789-1858), a recent graduate of the medical school 

at the University of Pennsylvania. Located on the west side of the 

Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road northeast of the present Confederate 

Memorial Bridge, the "Old Home" became the residence of a long line of 

Fl d d h t . 13 

oo s own to t e pres en t1me. 

Or. Joel Walker Flood, the son of Henry, was educated at 

Washington and Lee University 1n lexington, Virginia, and at the 

University of Pennsylvania. A wealthy phys·ician/farmer.., he continued to 

increase the . large Flood family landholdings in , wh·at ·would later be 

Appomattox County after the death of his father in 1827. In 1820, at the 

age of 31, he owned twenty slaves, and by early 1845, the y·ear in which 

Appomattox County was organized, Flood owned nearly 4,500 acres within 

a four-mile radius of the cluster of buildings at Clover Hill that would 

soon be known as Appomattox Court House. He operated his extensive 

plantation, which came to be known as 11 Pieasant Retreat, 11 from his 

\ 

12. Deed, William and Mownen Sweeney to John Sweeney, July 15, 1805, 

Prince Edward County Deed Book 12, Folio ·127. This deed did not include 

the l·and on which the mill was located but referred to the mill complex in 

its boundary description. This is the earliest referenc~ found referr·ing 

to Flood 1s Mill . Also see Eaves, Virginia Tobacco Industry, pp. 75~76, 

109. 

13. Mary Louise Gills, !! Happened ~ Appomattox: The Story ~ An 

Historic Virginia Village (Richmond, 1849), p. 28, and Elizabeth Petty 

Bentley, camp., Index !Q the 1810 Census 2_! Virginia (Baltimore, 1980), p. 

113" The increasing wealth of Henry Flood is,. evidenced in the Census of 

1820 in which he is fisted as engaged in both agriculture and 

manufacturing and as the owner of 37 slaves. 1820 ·. Census Population 

Schedules, Buckingham County, Jones Memorial Library, Lynchburg. 

15 
I, 

residence in the "Old Home, 11 located on a 100-acre tract. His individual 

' . . . 

landholdings were listed as follows (locations were measured .. from the 

Buckingham Court House since the :_lands were li~ted before Appomattox 

County was organized formally): 

2,014 acres 

100 acres 

.. 

216 acres 

1.59-1/2 acres 

I 

' \ 

On Lync-hburg-Richmond Road 

Residence · 

Mitl Tract, Appomattox ( 19 miles southwest 

of Court House) 

Adjoining Pattison (23 miles southwest of 

Court House) 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

800 acres Rocky Farm (23 miles southwest of Court House) I 

300 acres 

8 acres 

78 acres 

339 acres 

70-3/4 acres 

300 acres 

Adjoining Rocky Farm 

Adjoining Rocky Farm 

Adjoining Rocky Farm 

Adjoining Rocky Farm 

Adjoini~g Rocky Farm 

Adjoining Elijah <1<411ey (23 miles southwest 

of Court House). 

Sometime during the 1845-46 period Dr. Joet Walker Flood conveyed 

11 Rocky Farm,,. located three miles west of the site of the new Appomattox 

Court House, and most or all of the adjoining parcels to his son Hen~y 

Flood ( 1816-1872) . Henry later served as a staff officer 1n the 

Confederate Army and became popularly known as Colonel Henry Flood. 

He was a lawyer by profession, finishing his education at the lJniversity . of Virginia. He served as a representative of Appomattox County in the 

House of Delegates for one term in 1849-50. f t is not known how long he 

lived on "Rocky Farm" since he was residirg in Lynchburg by t860-6t. 

According to the Historical ·Base Map of Appomattox Court House National 

14. Land Book,· 1845, Appomattox County, Appomattox County , Court 

House; American Historical Society, History £r. Virginia, VI, 313; and 1820 

Census Population Schedules. 

16 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

'I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

Historical Park (1960), Colonel Henry Flood had a small country estate on 

the east side of the Lynchburg-Richmond Road approximately 1/2 mile 

northeast of 11 Pieasant Retreat" by 1865. 15 

After the land transaction between Dr. Joel Walker Flood and his 

son 1 Henr·y Flood, in 1845-46, the former owned seven parcels of land, 

totaling 2,623 acres, - aH · of which were located some two to three miles 

east-northeast of the site of the new Appomattox Court House along the 

Richmond-Lynchburg Stage Road. The parcels included the following: 

2,014 acres 

100 acres 

216 acres 

1-59-1/2 acres 

122 acres 

8-1/2 acres 

3 acres 

Lynchburg-Richmond Road 

Mansion House (Pleasant Retreat) 

Mill Tract 

Adjoining Pattisons 

William Pattison's Estate 

William Pattison's Estate 

F I ood 1 s M i II 

Hence the property on which the .. Sweeney Prizery 11 is located remained 

under the ownership of Dr. Joel Walker Flood .

16 

By the time of his death in 1858, Dr. Joel Walker Flood had 

purchased more than 600 additional acres and added them to his 11 Pieasant 

15. · Land Books, 1846 and 1861·, Appomattox County, Appomattox County 

Court House; American Historical Society, History .2! Virginia,. VI, 313; 

and lJ. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 11 Historical 

Base Map, Part of Master Plan, Appomattox Court House National 

Historical Park, 11 by Eastern Office of Design and Construction, August 

f7 1 1960 • 

16. Land Book, 1846, Appomattox County, Appomattox County Court 

House. According to the Census of t85Q, Henry Flood was an attorney I . farmer owning r~al ·estate valued at $20,000 and 66 slaves, while his. 

father 1 Dr. Joel Walker Flood, was a physician/farmer owning real estate 

valued at $50,450 and 121 slaves. Their wealth and leading position in the 

county is evidenced by the~ fact ·that there were only nine men in 

Appomattox County in 1850 with fifty slaves or more. Stuart McDearmon 

Farrar, camp., 1850 ·census 2f Appomattox County, Virginia, (1975) 1 p. 

3, and Moore, "Appomattox Court House, 11 pp. 14, 170-171. 

17 
Retreat" estate. Thus, he left his widow, Eliza B. Flood, with a 

' 

3,230-acre estate at his passing. 17 

~ ) 

Eliza B. Flood .remained the owner of the : 

11\Pieasant R·~treat 11 ~estate 

until her death in 1864 or early 1865. During her last years she was 

apparently car~d for by her grandson Joel Walker Flood, Jr. (1839-1916), 

the son of Colonel Henry Flood who had evidently grown up with his 

grandparents since the Census of 1850 listed him as living with them. In 

1860 Joel Walker Flood, Jr~, had acquired the 1,420-acre 11 Rocky Farm" 

from his father who was living in Lynchburg, and it is likely that he also 

took· over the management of his grandmother•s estate at that time. tn 

·1865 the entire 11 Pieasant Retreat11 estate, which now consisted of 2,870-1/2 

acres, was transferred to the ownership of Joel Walker Flood, Jr., as a 

result of the terms of the will of Eliza B. Flood. Thus, at the age .of 27 

1-

;I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

he found himself the owner of 4,290-1/2 acres of land in Appomattox It 

County .

18 

Joel Walker Flood, Jr., became generally known as Major Flood after 

commanding Company H of the Second Regiment, Virginia Cavalry ( kno~n 

as the 11 Appomattox Rangers 11 ) during the Civi I War. He received his 

education at Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia, and .at the 

University of Virginia. He also represented Appomattox County in the 

House of Delegates and served on the county Board of Supervisors for 

17. Land Books, 1858 and 1859, Appomattox County, Appomattox County 

Court House. A map entitled "Map of Buckingham & Appomattox 

Counties, Surveyed under direction of 1A. H. Campbell, Capt .. Engrs. & 

Chief of Topogl. Dept .. ONv,• By Charles E. Cassell, Lieut. Engrs. 

P. A. C. S. December 25th, 186411 indicates that the Prizery area was under 

the ownership of Eliza Flood. 

18. Land Books, 1861, 1865, 1866, Appomattox County, Appomattox 

County Court House; Moore, 11 Appomattox Court House, 11 pp. 15-16, 

170-72; and Farrar, 1850 Census, p. 3. According to Moore, the Census 

of 1860 listed t79 residents in Appomattox County with an aggregate 

wealth (in ·real an·d personal property) of $25,000 or more. Joel Walker 

Flood, Jr., was the sixth wealthiest person in the county (in terms of 

aggregate wealth), owning real estate valued at $25,700 and per'sonal 

property (including 24 slaves) valued at $64,500. Eliza B. Flood was the 

seventh wealthiest person in the county, owning lan·d valued at $-22,400 

and persona' property (including 33 slaves) valued at $61,700. 

18 

I 

I 

I 

I· 

I 

I 
~~--------------------

I 

I 

• 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

many years. A respected farmer, he served as the first county 

agricultural age~t during his last years in 1911-14. 19 

Although Joel Walker Flood, Jr., sold portions of his plantation, the 

name of which was changed to 11 Eidon 11 during his tenure, the estate still 

comprised 2,247-3/4-acres, or nearly sixty percent of his total 

landholdings in Appomattox and Amherst Counties, at the time of his 

death on November I, 1916. 20 

During his fifty-year tenure on the estate, Flood had four children 

by three different wives. By his first wife, Ella W. Faulkner, he had 

two children that went on to distinguish themselves: Eliza Balling · an~ 

Henry Delaware, popularly known as 11 Hal 11 Flood. Eliza Balling married 

Richard Evelyn Byrd of Winchester, Virginia, a Rear Admiral in the U.S. 

Navy who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for making the first 

airplane flight over the North Pole with Floyd Bennett on May 9, 1926 . 

In subsequent years he made four expeditions to the Antarctic between 

1928-47 to explore and survey the hitherto uncharted region and record 

scientific data concerning the South Pole. 21 

. Henry Delaware (1865-1921), a lawyer, who began his practice in 

' 

Appomattox in 1886, became a prominent figure in Virginia politics, 

19. Vara Smith Stanley, Appomattox County, Past, Present and F_uture: 

A History ~ Appomattox County · (Appomattox, 1965), pp. 5, 26-27; 

American Historical Society, History~ Virginia, VI, 313; Tyler, Men of 

Mark, 11, 118; and Featherston, History~ Appomattox, pp. 16-17. 

20. Just prior to his death in 1916, the 2,247-3/4 acres had been valued 

at $4 per acre for a total assessed value of the land of $9·, 988. The 

buildings had been valued at $1,200, thus making t_he total value of the 

land and the buildings to be $11,188 . On this assessed total he had . paid 

$11.19 in state tax and $151.07 in county and district taxes. Land Book, 

1916-17, Appomattox County, Folio 7, Appomattox County Court House. I 

21.· Girls; U Happened ~ Appomattox, pp. 27-29, an.d Richard B. 

Morris, ed., Encyclopedia ~ American History (New York, 1976), p. 995. 

It is interesting to note that w~ll-known .. sons were born _ to Richard 

Evelyn Byrd and his wife. The sons were Thomas, a prominent Virginia 

businessman, Harry Flood, a Governor of Virginia who became a powerful 

member of the United States Senate, and Richard, Jr. 

19 
,• 

•' 

holding the office .. of Commonwealth prosecuting attorney in Appomattox 

County (1891-1901) and representing the county in the House of Delegates 

(1887-1891), the State Senate (1891-1901), and the U. 5. House of ·, 

Representatives ( 1901-1921). As ·the chairman of the ~. House Committee on 

Foreign Affairs from 1913 to 1919, he authorized the joint congr~ssi~nal 

resolution d~claring a state of war to exist between the nited States and 

Germariy signed by President Woodrow Wilson on April 6, 1917 .

22 

After the death of a second son, Holmes, at an early age, Joel 

Walker Flood, Jr., and his third wife, Sallie Whitman (Delk), had a son 

Joel West Flood (1894-1964). It was this son that ultimately inherited the 

land on which the 11 Sweeney Prizery 11 is located in 1920 under the t~rms of 

his father•s will and then conveyed the property to the United States 

Government in December 1936. 

Joel West Flood was born at 11 Eidon 11 on August 2, 1894, and received 

a well-rounded education at Appomattox Agricultural High School, 

Washington and Lee University, the University of Virginia, and Oxford 

University in England. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1917, 

and commenced a legal practice in Appomattox. During World War I he 

served from March 29, 1918, until his discharge on July 18, 1919, as a 

private in Company A, 305th Engineers, 80th Division, and saw action .in 

two battles on the Western Front.. After returning to Appomattox he was 

elected in November 1919 as the Commonwealth 1s attorney of Appomattox 

County and served in that position until 1932. In 1920 he inherited 

2,079-acres of Appomattox County farm land, including the 11 Eidonu 

plantation, under the terms of his father•s will. In February 1922 he was 

appointed to the staff of Governor E. Lee Trinkle and later he was named 

chairman of the War History Commission of Appomattox County . During 

the 1920s he was the director of the Tobacco Factory of Appomattox and 

22. Lyon · Gardiner Tyler, ed., Encyclopedia 2f Virginia Biography (~ 

vols., New York, 1915), V, 373-374; Tyler, Men 2f Mark 1!2 Virginia, II, 

118-120; Biographical Directory 2f the American Congress: 1774-1971 

(Washington, 1971), p. 952; and The National Cyclopedia of American 

Biographx, XIX, 206 . 

20 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

1: 

I 

.I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

of the local Fair Association and was president of the Appomattox 

Telephone Company. He served as the special assistant to the Attorney 

General of Virginia from 1928 to 1932 at which time he was elected as a 

Democrat to the Seventy-Second Congress to fill the vacancy caused by 

the death of Henry St. George Tucker. After serving in the House of 

Representatives from November 8, 1932, to March 3, 1933, he returned to 

Appomattox to resume his law practice and agricultural pursuits. In 

1939-40 he held the position of assistant United States Attorney for the 

Western District of Virginia, and in January 1940 he was elected as a 

judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, serving in that position 

until his death at Richmond, Virginia, on April 27, 1964- 23 

' 23. Biographical Directory ~ the American Congress: 1774-1971 1 p . 952, 

and American Historical Society 1 History of Virginia, VI, 313. 

21 

.. 
C. Construction and Utilization of Prizery. 

While the date of the original construction of the 11 5weeney Pr.izery11 

cannot be positively documented, it seems reasonable to conclude .that it 

was built by Henry Flood in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth . . 

century. During its early years it was used presumably as a prize barn 

for packing tobacco on the Flood estate first known as 11 Pieasant Retreat. 11 

Although no r~mn~nts of the extant building indicate its use as a prizery, 

its location in a .Prominent tobacco growing area near the ·Ap.pomattox 

River and the Lyrtchburg-Richmond Stage Road would have been a good 

one for such an enterprise. Since the need for prizeries began to wane 

after the 1830s as farmers sent increasing amounts of loose-leaf or 

unpacked tobacco to market, it can be presumed that the Prizery was . 

converted to a tenant house on the Flood estate some time between the I • t 

late antebellum period and the first two decades after the Civil War .. 

Little is known about the tenants who have lived in the Prizery after . . . . . 

its conversion. According to Dr. Clyde G .. 0 1Brie'"', currently living in . . . 

Appomattox, three of his relatives lived in the P~izery during the early 

twentieth century. C. B. Gilbert lived in the structure for an 

undetermined period until about 1915 when Will O'Brien took up residence 

there. He lived in the Prizery ur-til the ear'y 1930s. Edward O'Brien 

moved into the Prize~y some time in the early '930s and was living there 

when· the Floods sold the property to the United States Government in 

December 1936. 24 

24. Personal interview of Dr. Clyde G. O'Brien by. Harlan 0. Unrau, 

May 7, 1980. A National Park Service survey of the Prizery in 1940 

refers to the Prizery as the St. Clair or Flood Tenant House, indicating 

that members of the St. Clair family may have lived there at one point. 

Since the Sweeney name · has been associated with the Prizery, it is 

possible that some members of the Sweeney family also may have once 

Jived in the structure .. 

22 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

1. 

: 

\ 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

D. Significance of the Prizery. 

The principal significance of the Prizery lies in its association with 

the events that led to the end of the Civil War. The area around the 

Prizery was a part of the Confederate encampment area on the night. 

before General Robert E .. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia 

to General · Ulysses S. Grant at the nearby Appomattox Court House on 

April 9, 1865, thus ending four years of bloody civil strife. On the night 

of April . 8 the Army of Northern Virginia encamped over a wide area 

around Appomattox Court House, encompassing Clover Hill, the Mariah 

Wright farm, 11 Pieas<?nt Retreat, 11 and Colonel Henry FJood 1s estate .. 25 

Ever since Lee evacuated Petersburg and Richmond on April 2, he had 

been heading westward along the Lynchburg-Richmond Stage Road toward 

Lynchburg, t~enty ~iles beyond Appomattox,· where he hoped to move the 

remnants of his army, now numbering less than 30,000 men, by railroad 

to North Carolina and join forces with General Joseph E. Johnston. On 

Saturday, April 8, Lee's ragged veterans had spent another grueling day , 

trudging over the muddy roads of Appomattox County, desperately 

seeking to escape the grasp of General Grant's ever-lengthening arm. At 

daybreak on Palm Sunday, April 9, the Confederates, in a gamble to 

break through the Federal fines and move toward Lynchburg, attacked 

across the field ' west of the village of Appomattox Court House and 

brushed the Fede·ral cavalry aside only to disclose strong units of 

blue-coated infantrymen. ~ s 'efore noon, Union infantry spread in · a 

skirmish line, advanced north across the Wright farm and to the south 

edge of the town. A few minutes fater, one of Lee's officers came r:'iding 

out bearing a white flag of truce, · and the Union infantry halted its 

25. While it is difficult to pinpoint the units that were in the vicinity of 

the~ Prizery, the park's Troop Movement Map, drawn in 1960, identifies 

Pickett•s and Kershaw's Divisions and Anderson•s and Longstreet•s Corps 

as being nearest to the site of the Prizery. Lee's headquarters were 

about one-half mile northwest of the Prizery. According to Moore in his 

-study of Appomattox Court House, one Confederate soldier, John. B·ell 

Vincent, noted in his diary, now at the Virginia Historical Society at 

Richmond, that he was "on Capt. Flood•s farm 11 near Appomattox Court 

House at the time of Lee 1s s.urrender. I 

23 
advances at the Wright House. Soon Generals Grant and Lee rode into 

town to meet in Witmer Mclean's house and arrange the surrender · ter1ns 

of the Army of Northern Virginia. 26 

26. There are no known sources, either primary or secondary, that 

mention the Prizery in their description of the events and military actions 

around Appomattox Court House on . April . 8-9, 1865. For further 

information on the events of the last week of hostilities see the following 

works: E .. P. Alexander, Militarx Memoirs ~~Confederate (New .York, 

1907), pp. 595-602; Sir Frederick Maurice, An Aide-De-Camp 91 Lee 

(Boston, 1927), pp. 253-280; Philip Van Doren Stern, An End to Valor: 

The Last r:;>~ys. Qf The Civil War (Boston, 1958), pp :-222-228; Burke 

Davis, To Apeomattox: Nine f\pril Days, 1865 (New York, l959), pp. 

307-409; Burleigh Cushing Rodick, ~E?_pomattox: The Last Campaign (New 

York, 1965), pp. 79-189; Bruce Catton, ~Stillness~ Appomattox (New 

York, 1953), pp. 406-428; James I . Robertson, Jr. , ed. , From Ma.nassas 

!2 Appomattox: Memoirs Qf the Civil War .!.!! America, 2Y James Longstreet 

· (Bloomington, 1960), pp. 618-631; Henry Edward Tremain, Last Hours of 

Sheridan's Ca'!.aJ..ry (New York, 1904), pp. 328-333, 439-464; Clement A: 

Evans, ed., Confederate Military History (12 vols., Atlanta, 1899), Ill, 

546-557i Morris Schaff, The Sunset Qf the Confederacy (Boston, 1912), 

pp. 118-302; and Moore, 11Appomattox Court House, .. pp. 94-116. 

24 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

l 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

CHAPTER THREE 

THE 11SWEEN EY PRIZE RY 11 UNDER THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: 

1937-1980. 

. 

• 
) 

A~ter the 11Sweeney Prizery11 was transferred to the jurisdiction of 

the National Park Service in 1936, it received 'little attention for: some 

years pending the determination of its use in the overall planning for the 

interpretatioh and management of the park. The files at Appomattox 

Court House National Historica·1 Park indicate that . the interior of the 

Prizery, then referred to as the St. Clair or Flood Tenant House , was 

first measured in April 1940. The ·measurements and drawings (which may 

be seen in Appendix A) show the configuration of the interior rooms of 

the ground floor and the second floor of the structure as it· existeq after 

the last tenants were removed. The park files indicate that general 

interior measurements (which may be see·n in Appendix B) were made in 

July 1958 prior to the "partial mothballing11 of the structure the following 

year to .Prevent the accelerating rate of structural deterioration . 

Preliminary to the stabilization work that was carried out on the 

"Sweeney Prizery" between May 14 and June 3, 1959, a brief examination 

was made of the existing conditions of the structure. According to a 

. report prepared by Orville W. Carroll in August 1961 the existing 

structural conditions of the Prizery prior to the stabilization work were as 

follows: 

The Sweeney Prizery is a 1- 1/2 story frame house. Its 

one unique quality lies in the fact that by being built on ~ 

hillside, it possesses a "daylight basement," an unusual feature 

found in this area. 

• • . ·The Prizery is a story and a half frame structure 

constructed over a stone foundation that provides access fron1 a 

grade entrance into the basement rooms. Ea.ch of the three 

floors are divided into two rooms separated by a centra11y 

located stairway. The first floor was expanded in later year~ • 

to include the shed-roof addition. . . . This addition might 

have been ad.ded to the main house at the same time a major· 

remodeling proj~ct occurred to the Prizery. . . . 

26 

1-

I 

.I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I· 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

Very little time was spent in studying the architectural 

features of the structure to determine its original appearance. 

It was noted however, after the weatherboarding was removed, 

rnany changes from the or~iginal plan had been rnade.. Bolh end 

chimneys are definitely later additions, possibly taking the 

place of an earlier central chimney. Evidence of a full length 

porch across the southeast wall can be verified by the notches 

s ti II existing in the two corner posts on this e I ev at ion . . . . 

Other alterations to the original window and door locations 

were noticed and it is thought that four exterior doors once 

existed in the original plan; two on the southeast wall and two 

on the northwest wall. The doors in the southeast wall were 

closed ·off when the porch was removed and new 

weatherboarding applied; windows were changed and possibly 

the end chimneys built during the same time. Additional study 

of the frame will be required to verify the belief that a central 

fireplace and chimney once existed as suggested by the spliced 

floor joists and rafters on the first and second floors. . . . 

• . The lower portion of the frame is almo~t entirely 

gone.. Damage from term.ites have penetrated into both sills, \ 

studs and floor joists of the first floor, rendering them almost 

useless. Above the first floor level, the struc.tur~ is basically 

sound, but a considerable amount of reconstruction will be 

required before the building can be safely used. 

The stabilization work that· was carried out represented 11 the m1n1mum 

amount of work required to prevent further decay of the structure and a 

rninimum amount of physical disturbance of the architectural elements 

considered necessary as contributing evidence for a future restoration. 11 

According to ttte report by Carroll the stabilization work consisted of 

first removtng 

northwest side 

weatherboarding. 

the post-1865 porch and ell additions on the 

of the original house and all deteriorated 

The interior of the structure was then 

27 
shored in the basement and on the first floor to prevent any 

weight from settling on the u'·hsafe stone found·atioh and also to 

prevent total collapse. of the wall fra'ming members that are 

rotted at their bases. . . . · 

Horizontal nailing strips were placed on the exterior frame 

and covered with corrugated sheet metal. . . . 

The existing sheet metal roof was scraped and painted with 

a metal lead primer to prevent further rusting. . . . 

. . . Some repainting of the chimneys was necessary to 

prevent any loose stones from falling out. Composition of the 

mortar used was made so it could be easily removed when the 

b . td• . d 27 u1 tng 1s restore . 

In March 1976 a Classified Structure Field Inventory Report was 

prepared for the Prizery, providing structural data both on the exterior 

and interior of the building (data may be seen in Appendix C). 

The Prizery was stabilized in 1978-79 to prevent further structural 

deterioration in accordance with plans and specifications prepared by John 

B. Ingle, Architect, Division of Resource Preservation, Mid-Atlantic 

Regional Office. The work, which was carried out by Young Builder·s 

under contract, included the following: 

I . 

2. 

Stone masonry in the rear wall and the two end chimneys ·were 

removed and put back piece by piece. 

' 

Portions of the rear or tower wall where masonry was 

missing were rebuilt. 

27. United States Department of the l nterior, National Park Service., 

.. Historic Structures Report, Part Ill on Stabilization of the Sweeney 

Prizery, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Appomattox, 

Virginia, 11 by Orville W. Carroll, August 1961, pp. i-ii, 2-4. 

28 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

3. Old materials, such as flooring, were put back in place. 

4. ·rwo stick louvers were put in the upper floor to insure proper 

t

.l . 28 ven 1 at ton. 

~- . 

28. Telephone interview with John B . Ingle, -May 15, 1980. For 

n)ore information on the subject of the 1978-79 stabilization, one should 

consult lJnited States Department iof the Interior, National Park Service, 

11Stabilization of Sweeney Prizery File, 11 by Mi_d-Atlantic Regional Office, 

John B. lngte, 1978-79. 

29 
. . 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I I: I· 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

• 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

CHAPTER FOUR 

FOLKLORE, T.RADITIONS, AND LJNDOCUMENTED THEORIES 

CONCERNING THE 11 SWEEN EY PR I ZERY11• 
In the absence of much documentation concern1ng the construction, 

ownership, and ·utilization of the 11Sweeney Prizery 1

11 numerous stories, 

\ ' 

legends, and theor~es have grown up around the · structure. Some of this I 

folklore has 1 come to be accepted in part over the years by National Park 

Service personnel and Jocal historians. T_his ch~pter will qriefly discuss 

the most prominent stories that the author came across during the tou.rse 

of his research and will attempt to offer a short evaluation of the merits 

of each story. 

A. Construction of P rizery, ca. 1735. 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

The date of the original ·construction and early ownership and· use of 

the Prizery is impossible to document postively. The 'earliest claim for I 

the ·construction of the building has been set around 1735 b-y loca·l 

Appomattox County historians, but those making the claim agree that such I 

an assertion cannot be documented. 29 

B. Construction of Prizery by Alexander Sweeney in 1790s. 

During the 

recently-established 

in the early 1940s, 

first historical research efforts at the 

Appomattox Court House National Historical Monument 

National Park Service personnel determined that the 

Prizery was original1y constructed in the 1790s by A'exander Sweeney. I • 

This assertion was based on the statements of Edward o• Brien, the last 

tena·nt to live in the Prizery and the great grandson of Alexander 

Sweeney 1 and Joel West Flood, the last private owner of the Prizery who 

sold the property to the United States in 1936. Taking the claim of 

Edward 0 1Brien as fact, the approximate date of the 1790s was determined 

by taking the age of O'Brien (then about 65 years old) and figuring 

29. J. Robert Jamerson, a local historian and genealogist living in 

Appomattox 1 granted me a personal interview on May 8, 1980. During the 

interview 1 he informed me that he had been told that the Prizery was 

bui It around 17351 but he knew of no documents to verify such a claim. 

32 ' 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

11 the probable time of his ancestor's tenure. u

30 

There are several problems with this interpretation of the original 

date of construction of the Prizery. It should be noted that the two 

statements by o•Brien and Flood are the only ones linking the name of 

Alexander Sweeney with the Prizery. It is also interesting to note that 

Dr. Clyde G. O'Brien, a nephew of Edward O'Brien currently living in 

Appomattox, told me in an interview on May 7, 1980, that during the 

period when he visited his relatives in the Prizery (ca . 1915-1937] he 

never thought or heard of the Prizery as being formerly owned or 

constructed by any member of the Sweeney family. 31 

C. Ownership by Moses Sweeney, ca. 1825 - 1840s. 

According to J. Robert Jamerson, Moses Sweeney, the grandfather of 

the world famou·s banjo player Joel Walker Sweeney, operated a post office 

and prizery in the 11Sweeney Prizery11 around 1825. At that time Moses 

Sweeney, who appears to have settled in Buckingham County after the 

Revolutionary War, was listed as being the post master of a post office at 

Flodds, Virginia. It is the conclusion of Jamerson that Moses Sweeney 

was living in or near the Prizery at that time while operating both the 

prizing operation and the post office in the buiJding. Jamerson bases his 

conclusion in part on the fact that both operations would have be~n 

located in a public place and that the Prizery was in such a location 

because of its proximity to the miJI and dam complex and the 

Lynchburg-Richmond Stage Road. 

30. United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 

11 Appomattox Court House National Historical Moflument, Interpretive 

Statement, Master Plan, 1942, 11 n.p. Also see United States Department of 

the t nterior, National Park Service, 11 Appomattox Court House National 

Historical Monument, Historic Base Map, 1941, 11 n.p. The latter document 

refers to the structure as "Alexander Sweeney•s Antebellum Tobacco 

'Prizery' (packing house)." 

31. Personal interview of pr. Clyde G. O'Srien b,y Harlan D. Unrau, 

May 7, 1980. 

33 
While the Census Records and surviving Buckingham County tand 

records indicate that Moses Sweeney moved into the area after the 

Revolutionary War and lived there until his death ih the 1840s (the 1820 

Census Population Schedules list him · as a farmer owning 14 slaves)., there 

is no documentation to supper~ positively the theory of. Jamerson relative 

to the connection of Moses Sweeney With the Prizery. 32 

The connection of Moses Sweeney to a post office in the Prizery is 

further disputed by the research of Moore in his 11 Appomattox Court 

Housen study. He writes that a post office developed during the 1820s 

and J830s at the brick tavern buitt by Alexander Patteson in 1819 on the 

Clover Hilt plantation he had purchased five years before. According to 

Moore, this post office was known as 11 Floods11 and was named for Thomas 

H. Flood, the first postmaster and a relat,ve of the Floods · of 11 Pleasant 

Retreat. 11 In 1837 the "Fioods11 post office became 11 Ciover Hifl 11 and on 

33 February 3, 1859, it was formally designated "Appomattox Court House ... 

D. Connection of Various ·Sweeney Family Members with the Prizery · 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

Various efforts over the •years have been made by researchers to I 

I ink the Prizery to numerous Sweeney family members. One such case 

appears in the files of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. I 

Research by Mrs. E. A. Watson of Lynchburg, Virginia, in October 1949 

I 

32. To attempt to document this theory, the author of this t'eport I 

researched various county census records as well as the surviving land 

records of Buckingham and Appomattox Counties. All research efforts on 

this subject led to inconclusive results. The history of the Moses 

Sweeney family in Buckingham County, with. particular emphasis on Joel 1. 

Walker Sweeney, is treated in Burke Davis, "The Swinging Sweeneys," 

The I ron Worker, XXXI\ I (Autumn, 1969), 2-12; Stanley, ~ppotl)~ttox 

County, pp. 12-14; Gills, !.! _t:tappene~ ~ Aeeomattox, pp. 33-3($; a_nd I 

Moore, "Appomattox Court House, n pp. 216-217. There is a posslbit1ty 

that some data relative to the Moses Sweeney connection with the 

Prizery might surface in the George H. Collins Papers in the Virginia 

State Arcl1ives at. Rrchn1ond since that.. coHect.ion contairls sonle I 

personal papers of Joel \Val ker Sweeney. 

33. Moore, u Appomattox Court House, 11 p. 80. 

34 I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

traced the purported ownership of the Prizery from 1809 to 1858 through 

John Sweeney, William Sweeney, Lydia Wingo Sweeney, T. D. S~eeney, · 

and 1-ienry F. Bocock. Since the research was referenced to the land 

deed books of Prince Edward County, the author of this report checked 

those records at the Prince Edward County Courthouse. The research 

led to the conclusion that Mrs. Watson•s land deed search concerned 

property that was south and west of the Prizery location along Plain Run 

on the south side of the Appomattox River . 

While at the Prince Edward County Court House other land deeds 

associated with various Sweeney family members were checked . This was 

done because it was thought that there might be a chance · that the 

Prizery property would be listed in that county due to its proximity to 

the Appomattox River that divided Buckingham and Prince Edward 

Counties before the formation of Appomattox County in 1845. The 

research in the Prince Edward County land records led to the conclusion 

that none of the Sweeney-owned lands in that county included the 

property on which the Prizery is located. 34 

34. It is interesting to note that early National Park Service studies 

identified the aforementioned Flood dam and mill complex as the Sweeney 

dam and mill. This identification was later dropped, although the name of 

Sweeney has continued to be connected with the Prizery. 

35 
.. 

:,;. .. ' . 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

. I 
·---------------- 1 

I 

I 

I 

• 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

I ' 
It is the opinion of the author that this report substantially provides 

all the available research data required for the stablization/preservation 

of the "Sweeney Prizery11 as well as the future interpretation of the site. . Research for · this report was carried out in the following repositories: 

Appomattox, Virginia 

Appomattox County Library 

Appomattox Court House 

Appomattox Court l'rHouse National Historical Park. 

Personal tnterview with Dr. Clyde G. O'Brien 

Personal t.nterview with J. Robert Jamerson 

Boulder, Colorado 

I 

University of Colorado Library 

Buckingham Court House, Virginia 

Buckingham Court House 

Charlottesville, Virginia 

Albemarle County Court House 

Denver, Colorado 

Denver Public Library 

Farmville, Virginia 

Prince Edward County Court House 

Lakewood, Colorado 

Branch of Micrographics, Graphics Systems Division, Denver ·service 

Center 

Rocky Mountain Regional Office Library 

Lynchburg, Virginia 

Jon.es Mem9riat Library 

38 

-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

APPENDIXES 
APPENDIX A 

St. Clair Or Flood House : Notes on Structure, April 26, 1940 

. 

~A I . 

• 

I . l ·: ~~l-c.\) . : 

-

•. . . 

-- -

• 

. . . . 

40. 

t . 

w'' 

' 

' 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
------------------------------------------- 1 

I 

A. 

41 

I 
~?> . 

~rn·~t})V:>~· . ./?_'.6 ." ~ ' :" , : s~ a!-0.:. · · · · · ·· A . · 

. . . q ~ ·: ~· ·; ,..:.,.~ ~., (' t:v.:> ~ A , 

a . • •....;- ,. ~ . . 

~"-~ finv/...1\.: ~~W«JJ!~ ~~fo AX:;:O, 1 ·. . II 

I~ 

. 

I 

~~Wicf~, f'o~ ~df~ 1-r> ~~M ~1 A,:·, .··. · . ·.I 

.. ad01~ V:~: .,t~!~ .. pi~?-- ~~w-:;d~ .. tJ.~r~ ~ ........ . ·. ·.c+v ~ (/)~ ~ ~t.;:, .· . 

·- '. ~ ~~. . . . . · .. : : .. ... . . 

) . . . J ; . . . . . . ... . . . . 

·.. ~ fVJ ~ 11 I ~"li: r!~~~- ~OlA~. C:!/h·: · . ~: · . . · u't~ . . . .!) I I 0 If - . 

I 

. . . ;. . . . 

tui"'~ 'w 1t-W''_ ... :~ korh,¥: 'lt~ f)J.-l!-of&..~ 

r;~: · ~r.1~:~lt~~_.~~ ~~ ~~fVffY'4= I . CJ' f\o.j t,;;, _ .11- i 3 · · · . · eenk.e! :z 5 ~~ . . · · . I 

, . .J)cn>i- :. /CJ.Ak.to.A : 7o . x 3! ~. : ~-/J 1-eddtJ-1 CAtoe ·. . . . . 

U: 

• 

. . . . . . - . . . . . 

• 

J) ;()"'~....c:~: ./.. . . ' : .· ·: . ·. . . . . . ·, 

UJ;~~ W''' . ~A .?vx. 2..¥ ;·:;._t ~~~ll/o 

I 

I 

I 

¥~~ ~ ~W\~d: . el~~l ~-4. I witjt i'tU,Jdl 

· j · · II ... ~, J ' . V. .... 1 . L7 h>([A ../.L) 42 . . . . . I 
I 

APPENDI X B 

I Interior Measurements, 11Sweeney Prizery I u July 15, 1958 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

') 

. . 

·Sweeney iPrizery 

.. 

6 I t II F'~·r< . 

. 

. 

-IS' . c! s . 

. 

. 

. . 

. ... • 

•. .. . 

. . 

• . l ; 

. . . 

•• 

I !\ 

7 0 c_e,/,j,'j 

•' 

• .. ' 

• 

• 

• 

~~ ,,._,£" . . . ~ ~ .. . \ 

. 

• 

. .. .. · .. ' . .. . .. 

~~ . 

• 

• 

Basement ·Noechel 

July 15., 195·s 

- f 6 I 6 II . . . . 

Fl ~,..:. fo ce, • /, ,., j 

. • . ' • . 

• 

I . . 

' -4 t ,,I .... ,. , . . . . I)..'" 1/ • . 

• -·- - - .. -- - . • 

• 

• 

' . • . . • 

• • . . 

. . 

• . . ' 

'~ • . . 

43 
. . . 

• 

Noechel 

Sweeney .prize.ry lsFioor 

• .. 

. . . 

• .,.. t 

• • • 

• 

. . 

• ' I 

:~ . ~~~~~~trt~n~~~~~~~~;s' 

t ' . \ 

., . · ' 

• 

. ~ 

• 

• 

t • 

. . 

44 

. 

. 

. . 

.. 

. . 

' 

. 

• 

J 

. . 

• 

•. 

. . . . 

. 

. . 

I

I 

I 

I

I 

I 

" ' . . ' . . 

. , . . . 

• 

I 

I. 

• 

• 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

. I 

,. 

) I 

I 

.I 

,, 

t 

. 

5 

. - -- ·-··--·---- -- ... 

Sweene-:£ Priz·ery · 

• 

. 

iJ \ . 

. . 

_.. 

.... JS' 

• 

I (' .. 

. . . 

.. , . . ; 

. • 

. ,~ 

.. 

• 

• 

. 

. . 

45 

• 

• 

...... 

, 

. 

. 

' 

' 

. . ' . . . . ... . 

• Noechel· • t •• • 

• 

2nd Floor July 15' 1958 

. . 

• 

. • 

'It~\ . . ) 

• . . . 

. . . .. . . . •. 

. . 

. ;,.. • 

.I I$"'' to. 

~ , 

N- .. • • . J(' 

• • • . ' . 

' . . •.. - . . . .• 

·- ' . . ~ . . . . ' . . .. . . . . . . . • ' ~ 

. . 

. ' . 

·. 

'· 
APPENDIX C 

Classified Structure Field Inventory Re.port - March 1976 

Exterior 

Size: 36-1/2 x 16-1/2 ft 

Foundation: bank-constructed with low, full-length cellar, at grade at 

front (NW long side), fully exposed at rear; rough-hewn sandstone, 

dry-laid 

Walls: some clapboard remaining (now covered with corrugate(J ·and 

V-crimped galvanized· iron she·et), untapered, 3/4" thick, . 611 to 

weather 

Windows: missing:· cellar openings· covered 

Doors: single entry (front) board & batten, clinched nails, wood sill, 

thumb latch missing; two short cellar doors covered, with corrugated 

sheet, on lower long side 

Roof: V-crimped galvanized iron sheet, painted red, applied over wood 

shingles, square edged, double coursed; rake cover~d i box cornice, 

shaped end boards ; 

Chimneys: two, exterior cons~ r-uction, rough-hewn rubble fieldsto,ne, 

with clay pointing and later mortaring of various vintages 

Porch: none: poured concrete paving at entry door 

Interior 

2 rooms on main floor and in attic 

Floors: random, about 611 

Walls: north room, horizontal t & g boards, 1011 , some replacements with 

611 boarding; south room, vertical board & batten panelling, boards 

with 1211 wide, battens 3-3/411 , about I" thick; partition, · horizontal 

boards, both sides 

Ceilings: exposed joists with corner beads in north room; south r.oom, 

exposed rough-hewn joints; all whitewashed 

Door: at partition, missing 

Trim: plain applied strip 2-3/8 x 1/211 , corners mitred 

Cabinetry: none ··· 

Fireplaces: stone construction and flagstone hearths; north end, 61 x 5411 

high, opening 34 x 31 11 high; crude mantel with applied strips across 

center of mantel board, and at sides tC? simulate pi lasters; shelf 

6-3/4 11 wide, 1-1/8 11 thick, protruding at ends 2 11; south end, 70 x 

58", opening 39 x 32", mantel missing 

Stair: crude, open riser, 4211 wide, enclosure, rough-sawn butted 

vertical boards on inside, horizontal in part plus vertical board & 

batten on outside 

46 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

ll 

I' 

I 

I I 

I 

I 

1 

I 

I) . 

I' ,. ·.1 

. 
I 

I 

I I· , . 

v 

·I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

. . 

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 

t. 
PRIMARY SOURCES 

Manuscript Materials I • 

• 

• 

· . 

Appomattox, Virginia. Appomattox County Court House. 

Land Records 

Deed Book 21, Folios 31-35 

Deed Book 2t, Folios 35-38 

Deed Book 36, Folios 120-122 

Land Books, 1845-94, 1905-06, 1916-17, 1934 

Probate Records 

Wilt Book I, Folios 213-216 

• Appomattox Court House National Historical Park . 

Historical Files - Sweeney Prizery 

Land Acquisition Records 

Buckingham Court House, Virginia. 

if· ./ 

General Index to Deeds, A, B, C, Grantee 

General Index to Wills, 1869-1937 

Surveyor's Book, 1762-1814, 1872-1909, Buckingham County 

Surveyor's Platt [sic] Book, Buckingham County, Virginia, 

Charlottesville, Virginia. Albemarle County Court House. 

1783-1799 

Surveyor•s Book, No. I, Part I, 1744-1755, Albemarle County 

Surveyor's Book, No. I, Part 2, ·1756-1790, Albemarle County 

Will Book, II, 1748-1798, Albemarle County 

Wills, Deeds, I, 1748-1798, Albemarle County 

Farmville, Virginia. Prince Edward County Court House. 

Land Records 

Probate Records 

Lynchburg, Virginia. Jones Memorial Library. 

1-

I 

I 

I 

I 

I\ 

I 

I 

1820 Census Population Schedules, Buckingham County I 

The manuscript materials of most use in the preparation of this 

report were the land and probate records at Appomattox County Court I 

House, the Surveyor•s Books at Buckingham Court House, and the park 

files at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. The land 

records at Appomattox County Court House were useful in tracing the 

1 f1istory of t.he Flood estate known first as "Pleasant Retreat." 

I 

48 1 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

Printed Documents 

Bentley, Elizabeth Petty, comp. Index to the 1810 Census of Virginia. 

Baltimore, 1980. 

Chilton, Harriet A., camp. Appomattox County, Virginia, Tax Lists. 

February, 1975. 

Farrar, Stuart McDearmon i .. camp. 1850 Census of Appomattox County, 

Virgin i ~. 1975. 

Fothergill, Augusta B., and Naugle, John Mark, camps. Virginia Tax 

·Pa1:ers, 1782-87, Other Than Those Published ~ the United 

States Census Bureau. Baltimore, 1966. · 

rieads ~ Families At the First Census of the United States, Taken In the 

Year 1790; Records of the State Enumerations, 1782 to 1785, Virginia. 

Baf timore, 1970. 

Woodson, Robert F. and Isabel B., camps. Virginia Tithables From 

Burned Record Counties. Richmond, 1970. 

All of t.hese records contributed to an understanding of the earJy 

Flood family history in Buckingham and Appomattox Counties. 

~aps 

Appomattox Court House From Surveys Under the Direction of Bvt. Brig. 

Gen. N. Michler, Maj. of Engineers, by Command of Bvt. Maj. Genl. 

A. · A. Humphreys, Brig. Genl. & Chief of Engineers, 1867 (Copy on 

file at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park) .. 

John Wood's Map of Prce. Edward County~ Executed in the Year 1820 and 

now reproduced from the sole remaining copy . preserved in the State 

Library. (Copy on file at Appomattox Court House N·ational 

Hi slorical Park). 

Map of Buckingham & Appomattox Counties. Surveyed under direction of 

1

A. H. Campbell, Capt. Engrs. & Chief of Topogl. Dept. DNV. 1 By 

Charles E. Cassell, Lieut. Engrs. P.A.C.S. December 25th, 1863 .. 

-rhese maps aided in the identification of the areas in Appomattox 

Co~nty owned by the Floods and provided useful reference for the 

location of unfamiliar place names. 

49 
't 

SECONDARY SOURCES 

Books 

Alexander, E. P. Militar)! Memoirs Qf ~ Confederate. New York, 1907. 

Arnold, B .. W., Jr. History£! the Tobacco Industry~ Virginia from 

1860 to 1894. Baltimore, 1897. -----

Biographical Director~ 2.f the American Congress: 1774-1971. Washington, 

1971. 

Bradshaw, Herbert Clarence. History £! Prince Edward County, Vi~gin~. 

Richmond, t955. 

Catton, Bruce. A Stillness ~ ~ppomattox. New York,. 1953. 

1--

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

Davis, Burke. To Appomattox: Nine April Da~sL 1865. New York, 1959. I 

Eaves, CharJes Dudley. The Virginia Tobacco Industry ( 1780-1860). 

Lubbock, 1945. 

Evans, Clement A. Confederate Militar~ History. 12 vols. Atlanta, 1899. 

(Vol. Ill) 

Featherston, Nathaniel Ragland. The History of Appomattox, Virgin.ia. 

Marceline, 1948. 

Gills, Mary Louise. .!.! Happened ~ Appomattox: 

Historic Virginia Village. Richmond, 1948. 

The Story of An 

Jacobstein, Meyer.. The Tobacco Industry !.!J. the United States. New 

York, 1907. 

Jones, Potly. Historical Sketch of £?uckingham County, yirginia. 

[Richmond], 1929. 

Maurice, Sir Frederick. An Aide-De-Camp of Lee. Boston, 1927. 

Meade, Bishop. Old Churches, Ministers and Families of Virginia. 2 vols. 

Phi lade I ph ia, 1940. 

Morris, Richard B.. Encyclopedia of American History. New York, 1976. 

Pennington, Margaret A., and Scott, Lorna S. 'iT he Courthouse Bur"ned 

---. " [Lynchburg], 1977. · ·· · 

Robertson, James I., ed. From Manassas to Aepomattox: Memoirs of th~ 

Civil War ~ America 2Y_ James Longstreet. Bloomington, 1960. 

Rodick, Burleigh Cushing. A ppom~ l.tox : New 

York, 1965. 

50 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

Schaff, Mor'ris. The Sunset 9.f. the Confederacy. Boston, 1912. 

I Sloames, Eric. An Age 9.f. Barns. New York, 1973. 

I 

I 

I 

. I

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

Stanley, Vara Smith. AE?pomattox c;;·ounty, Past, Present, Future: A 

~~slO!:}: ~~ App~rnaltox S:oun ll::, Appomattox, 1965. 

Stern, Philip Van Doren. An End to Valor: The Last Days·9.f. the Civil 

War .. Boston, 1958. 

The American Historical Society. History of Virginia. 6 vofs. Chicago, 

1924. (Vol. VI) 

The Farnlville Herald. Toda~ and Yesterday J..!! the Heart of Virginia. 

Farmvi lie, 1935 . 

The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. XIX. 

T'illey, Nannie May. The Bright Tobatco lndu_stry, 1860-1929. Chapel 

li iII, 1948 . 

Tremain, Henry Edwin. Last Hours 9.f. Sheridan•s Cavalry. New York, 

1904. 

1-yler, Lyon Gardiner. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. 5 vols. New 

York, 1915. (Vol. IV). 

Men 2.[ Mark ·l.!! Virginia. 6 vols. Washington, 1907. 

(Vol.· II)~ 

The volumes by Bradshaw, Eayes, Jacobstein, Sloames; The 

Farmville Herald, and Tilley were useful in understanding the culture of 

Virginia tobacco production ·and the role of a prizery in the packin_g of 

tobacco. The books by F~atherston, Gills, Jones, Pennington and Scott, 

and Stanley provided helpful insights into the history of Appomattox and 

Buckingham Counties. The Biographical Directory, the National 

C_ycfo_eedia, and the books by Morris, Tyler, and The American Historical 

Society provided biographical data on the Floods. The vol~mes by 

AJexander, Arnold, Catton, Davis, Evans, Maurice, Robertson, Rodick, 

Schaff, Slem, and Tremain provided an excellent overview of the events 

during the last week of the Civil War. 

Periodicals 

Davis; Burke. 11 The Swinging Sweeneys." The J ron Worker, XXXJ J J 

(Autumn, 1969), 2-12. 

This article provided an interesting sumrnary history of the Sweeney 

family in Appomattox and Bucki~gham Counties. 

. 

' 

51 
i 

4 1-

Pamprlets I 

Walker, Branch. "In Old Appomattox ... Printed in The Lynchburg New~, 

January 22, 1901. I . . 

This article was helpful in understanding some of the early facets of 

focal Appomattox history. 

J nterviews 

-----

Personal interv·iew of Dr. Clyde G. O'Brien by Harlan D . lJnrau, May 7, 

1980. 

I 

I 

Personal inteview of J. Robert Jamerson by Harlan 0 . Unrau, May 8, I 

1980. 

These interviews were helpful in providing insights into the status 

of local historical research on the 11 5\-veeney Prizery11 as well as providing 

useful remln\scences of the utilization of the Prizery tn the early 

twentieth century. 

·Technical Studies 

Moore, John Hammond. 11 Appomattox Court House - Commu.nity, Village, 

and Families, 1845-1870." 1978 .. 

I 

I 

U. S. Department of the Interior. National Park Service. ''Appomattox I 

Court House National Historical Monumer1t, Hi-storic Base Map." 1941. 

----• • 

11 Appomattox Court House 

Monument, Interpretive Statement, Master Plan .. " 

National 

1942. 

Histor·icaJ 

--~~· • 

11 Biography of Wilmer IVIclean, May 3, t8t4 -June 5, I 

1882, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Vit"'ginia," by 

Frank P. Cauble . October 31, 1969 .. 

11 Boundary & Land Status Map, Appomattox Court 1· 

House National Historical Park, II by Southeast Regional orrice. ~/larch 

1961 . 

-------· 11 Final Report, Archeological Research, Historic I 

Roads, Mariah Wright House Outbuildings, Appomattox Court House 

National Historical Park, Virginia, 11 by Kathleen W. Fiero. Decenlber 

1 1979. J ,, . 

. "Gener·aJ Development Plan, Part of the Master· Plan 

for A_p_p_o_m_a_t-tox Court House National Historical Monurnent, n by I 

Branch of Plans and Design. January, 1943. 

. . "General Management Plan, Appomattox Court House 

---N-a-tional Historical Park, Virginia,,. by Denver Service Center". I 

September, 1977. 

52 I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

.. Historic Base Map As of 1865, Part of the Master 

Plan, Appomattox Court House National Historical Monument, 11 by 

Branch of Plans and Designs. 1940-41 .. 

11 Historical Base, 1962, Appomattox Court House 

National Historical Park, Appomattox County, Virginia, 11 by Denver 

Service Center. May 1976 .. 

----. "Historical Base Map, Part of Master Plan, 

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, 11 by Eastern Office 

o_f Design and Construction. August 17, 1960. 

uHistorical Base Map As of 1865, Part of the Master 

Plan, Apporrlattox Court House Nationat Historical Park, 11 by Eastern 

Office of Design and Construction. October 8, 1962. 

"Historic Structures 

Stabilization of the Sweeney Prizery, 

National Historical Park 1 Appomattox, 

Carroll. August 1961. 

Report, Part Ill on 

Appomattox Court House 

Virginia, 11 by Orville W. 

11 Stabi1ization of Sweeney Prizery File, 11 by 

Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, John B. Ingle, Architect. 1978-79. 

---. "Status of Property, Appomattox Court House 

National Battlefield Site, Appomattox Court House, Virginia. •• May 3, 

1937. 

"Troop Movement Map, Part of the Master Plan, 

Appornattox Court House National Historical Park, 11 by Eastern Office 

of Design and Construction. August 17, 1960. 

All of these studies,, particularly the historic base maps, troop 

rnoven1ent maps, the 1978-79 stabilization file, and the studies by Moore 

and Carro", were us~ful in the preparation of this report. 

53 
I 

. I 

I 

I 

I 

I I· 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

PHOTOGRAPHS 

' " .. . 

55 
Photograph No. I 

Up-Hill Elevation, "Sweeney Prizery," April 30, 1959. 

Photograph taken by Henry Judd, Eastern Office of Design and Construction 

(EODC), National Park Service (NPS). 

56 

I 

J 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 
I 

.. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 

Photograph No. 2 

Down-Hill Elevation, "Sweeney Prizery, 11 April 30, 1959. 

Photograph taken by Henry Judd, EODC, NPS. 

57 
I 

Photograph No. 3 ,} 

Down-Hill Elevation, 11Sweeney Prizery , 11 April 30, 1959. I 

Photograph taken by Henry Judd, EODC, NPS. I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

~ 

I 

I 

I 

I 

' I 

I 

I 

•• 

58 I 
I 

.. 

I 

I 

I 

• 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 

Photograph No . 4 

End Elevation from South , "Sweeney Prizery, " April 30, 1959. 

Photograph taken by Henry Judd , EODC, NPS . 

59 
Photograph No . 5 

End Elevation From South, "Sweeney Prizery, 11 April 30, 1959. 

Photograph taken by Henry Judd, EODC, NPS. 

60 

I 

.. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 
I 

.. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

• 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 

Photograph No. 6 

End Elevation from North, 11Sweeney Prizery' II April 30, 1959. 

Photograph taken by Henry Judd, EODC, NPS. 

61 
Photograph No. 7 

Stabilization Work Underway on Down-Hill Elevation, "Sweeney Prizery , 11 

May 1959. 

Photograph taken by Henry Judd, EODC, NPS. 

62 

I 

,} 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 
I 

.. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 

Photograph No . 8 

Completed Stabilization Work on Up-Hill Elevation, 11Sweeney Prizery , " 

June 16, 1959. 

Photograph taken by Jack Boucher, EODC, NPS . 

63 
Photograph No. 9 

Down-Hill Elevation, "Sweeney Prizery, 11 1978. 

I 

,} 

I 

Photograph taken by Anthony S. Bley, U. S. Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia I 

District, for inclusion m 11 Photographic Sur·vey of Condition of Foundations, 

Sweeney Prizery, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, by 

National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Regional Office, Office of Planning 

1 and Resource Preservation, Division of Resources Preservation - John 

Ingle, Architect. 11 

64 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 
I 

.. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

le 

i 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 

Photograph No. 10 

• End Elevation from North, "Sweeney Prizery," 1978. 

Photograph taken by Anthony S. Bley, U.S. Corps of Engineers, 

Philadelphia District, for inclusion In "Photographic Surveys." 

65 
Photograph No. 11 

Up-Hill Elevcttion 1 "SY.eeney Prizery 1

11 1978. 

Photograph taken by Anthony S. B ley 1 U.S. Corps of Engineers 1 

Philadelphia District, for inclusion in "Photographic Survey." 

66 

I 

el 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 
I 

.. 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

•• 

I 

Photograph No. 12 

End Elevation from South, "Sweeney Prizery, 11 1978. 

Photograph taken by Anthony S. Bley, U.S. Corps of Engineers, 

Philadelphia District, for inclusion in 11 Photographic Survey . 11 

67 
I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

As the nation•s principal conservation agency, the Department or the 1 Interior has basic responsibilities to protect and conserve our· land and 

. water, energy and minerals, fish and wildlife·, parks and recreation 

areas, and to ensure the wise use of all these resources. The 

department also has n1ajor r·esponsibilily ror American Indian r~eset'vation I 

cornmun ities and for people \Vho · live in island territories under· lJ. S. 

administration. 

Publication services were provided by the graphics staff of the Denver I 

Service Center. NPS 1822 

I