Evening star., 1932-04-24
Continued from EleDenth Page

during the Revolution, and 1t is one Of the
Oldest houses in Richmond
few miles from Richmond on the River
road We find sign, "Tuckahoe" This house
was built about 1698 and 1t is notable for its
fine panelng and hand carved woodwork.
Much of this paneling is walnut and the
house is still in the possession of the descend
ants of the original family, the Randolphs
The Little Gray Lady" is the ghost visitor of
this house and the servants do not like to go
into the box garden near the grave yard after
dark, as they say they "see and hear things"
Hickory Hill, with its many acres real
plantation, is now owned by Col. Wickham and
is most noted for its tree box from 80 to 40
feet IN height, extending a distance of 800
feet in a double line from the entrance gate,
forming perfect archway above the 15-foot
walkway. The pleasure garden, as it was
called, contains about four acres, and adjoining
it is vegetable garden of two acres.
The James River plantation houses are all
interesting and on one side of the river we find
Shirley, the home of the Carriers, with its
unusual stairway, original furniture and
beautifully kept gardens. Westover, the house
here, built by William Byrd 3D. in 1735.
1t is considered one of the finest examples Of
Georgian architecture in America, while In
the garden one finds the tomb Of William
Byrd with his eptaph bearing witness to his
many virtues. The garden at Westover when
wistaria is in bloom, is picture not easily
forgotten.
Across the river is Appomattox Manor the
home of the Eppes family, which used
during the Civil War by Gen. Grant as
headquarters. At that time soldiers built 65
cabins on the grounds as hospital wards for
wounded soldiers. One of these was sold, and
is now located in Fairmont Park, Philadelphia
The next interesting house is Upper Bran
DON the home of Mr.. and Mrs. Otway Byrd
This place was formerly a part of the old
plantation Of Brandon and the house Is most
interesting although the garden suffered
greatly from 1862-1865
Brandon comes next on this trip, and the
garden of gardens in Virginia is the Brandon
garden, especially when the primroses are in
bloom. 1t is in this house that we find the
well known example of Chinese Chippendale
in the stairway of one of the wings. This
property was patented in 1885 to Richard
Quincy, whose brother married Judith, the
daughter of william Shakespeare.
The original estate of Claremont Manor
contained 12,500 acres and is now owned by
Gen. and Mrs. William H. Cooke, the general
being kinsman of the Aliens, who patented
this property in 1649. What is said to be the
smallest four-story house in America is the
brick house in the yard, now used as play
house" where billiards may be enjoyed
Recently, in planting some trees Mrs. Cooke
discovered many old brick walks which had
been covered with dirt and overgrown with
grass Here find some of the most glorious
Grape myrtles and magnolia trees in Virginia
Crossing the river, find ourselves back at
Williamsburg where John D. Rockefeller, jr,
has been doing some wonderful work in restor-
ing the old houses and gardens Much box
has been planted here, many gardens restored
and it is really worth trip to go through these
gardens and houses.
A T Yorktown the Moore House, where Corn
wallis surrender was signed, is open. as
well as York Hail. the home Of the Nelson's,
with its beautiful furniture and gardens
The Norfolk section, with its very old houses,
will take at least a day, and we find In Princess
Anne County the cid Hoggard place, called
Poplar Hail. which was built over 200 years
ago and contains much of the original furni-
ture, bought in England Lawson Hall was q
crown grant In 1909 to Thomas Lawson and
it is here we find the earliest formal garden
In this section, one estimated to be over 200
years old.
In this same county we have Bayville Farms.
with very interesting house. and the old
Adam Thoroughbred House said to be the old
est brick house in Virginia, with its paneled
walls and immense fireplace This place has
been furnished with early American furniture
1t was near here that Grace Sherwood, the
WITCH" was ducked for having cast a ''spelP'
on some of the neighbors In an old garden
nearby was told that the original rosemary
plants, the first to be brought to America. were
planted by Grace Sherwood. And the owner
OF the old garden gave me small plant to
take home in remembrance of my visit to that
part of Princess Anne County
From Norfolk it is an easy trip to the Suffolk
section, where we find Chippokes, built in 1912
almost directly across the river from James,
town. This was first granted to William
Powell who came to Virginia in 1911.
Shoal Bay has no manor house but the
grounds are lovely, and Old Fort Boykin is con-
sidered one of the finest examples of old Armv
engineering, as it known as a fort in
1912. This place has been restored and pre-
served for future generations
Roads leading from Washington are marked
Winchester" ''Warrenton," etc, and in the
Winchester section there is Gen, Daniel Nor