page_title: Black Walnut (Clover, Virginia)
section_title: Land-use and development, 1800s-1890s
hierarchical_section_title: Black Walnut (Clover, Virginia) / Land-use and development, 1800s-1890s
caption_attribution_description: English: Circa 1800, Black Walnut Plantation
context_page_description: Black Walnut is a historic plantation house and farm located near Clover, Halifax County, Virginia. The main house was built in at least three sections beginning about 1774 to 1790. In the 1840s and 1850s, a substantial two-story frame addition was built in two stages parallel to the existing house, along with a connecting hyphen, together giving the house an overall "H"-shape. The interior features Greek Revival style details.
  Also on the property are the contributing brick kitchen, a dairy, a wash-house, two smokehouses, two sheds, a cool-storage building, a privy, a stable, a barn, a slave cabin, a corncrib, two machine sheds, a toolshed, a garage, a late 18th-century schoolhouse, and the family cemetery.
  At its peak, Black Walnut Plantation was one of the largest and most successful plantations in Halifax County. The only Civil War battle fought in Halifax County, the Battle of Staunton River Bridge, took place on Black Walnut Plantation in the summer 1864. Confederate troops maintained encampment there during the war alongside up to 800 Confederate slave labors – and Union forces after.
context_section_description: John Sims, 1803-1852. John Sims, David Sims son, was largely responsible for Black Walnut's success as one of the most prosperous farms in Halifax County. John Sims received his inheritance in 1803, which included the 1,500-acre tract of land and 29 slaves. John Sims acquired additional landholdings in the county throughout the 1800s, becoming one of the largest landowners in the area. Only three other landowners, William Logan, Richard Logan, and John Coleman, held more land by 1850. John Sims operated the Black Walnut plantation for the next five decades, until his death in 1852.
  John Sims received his formal education at Hampden-Sydney. In 1809, he had acquired the 325-acre tract and mansion from his uncle Matthew's heirs. The following year, John Sims married Maria Wilson Clark. During their marriage, they resided at the Black Walnut plantation house. John and Maria Sims had four children: Mary Elizabeth, Phebe Ann, Mary Wilson, and William Howson. In 1815, their residence was valued at $2,000.00.
  Interior appointments included 8 calico window curtains; 1 carpet; 12 chairs with gold leaf; 1 piano; 1 sideboard; 1 mahogany bureau; 1 bureau; 1 chest of drawers; 1 clock; and 2 silver salvers. Maria Sims died in July 1822, and John Sims devoted the rest of his life to rearing his four children and managing the large estate.
  The Black Walnut Plantation reached its heyday by the mid-nineteenth century under the careful management of John Sims. The plantation in 1850 was described as consisting of 1,000 acres of improved land and 1,200 acres of unimproved land. His prosperity also was illustrated by the significant increase in slaveholdings. Between 1820 and 1840, John Sims increased his slaveholdings from 77 slaves to 137 slaves. By 1850, his labor force included 150 slaves.
  Tobacco was cultivated as the main cash crop, however, the plantation was diversified and raised such commercial commodities as grain, livestock, and dairy product. A second farm in the county operated by John Sims encompassed 337 acres and raised a variety of crops, including corn, oats, tobacco, cotton, and butter.
  The Black Walnut plantation complex grew to encompass a variety of domestic and agricultural outbuildings; the main house served as the focal point. Domestic outbuildings, including a smokehouse, dairy, kitchen, and icehouse, were placed in a U-shaped cluster to the rear, or west, of the main house. Slave quarters and agricultural outbuildings were more isolated from the main living area. A formal boxwood garden was laid out south of the main house, and a terraced vegetable garden was situated to the northwest. A variety of native and ornamental trees and shrubs landscaped the grounds, and the entire complex was enclosed by woodland. A family cemetery was situated northwest of the house. 
  John Sims' prosperity was illustrated by the substantial modifications made to the manor house during the first quarter of the nineteenth century, at which time the central section of the house was raised to a full two-story height. The house was altered again with the construction of a substantial two-story frame addition connected by a central hyphen, resulting in its present H-shaped configuration. The 1848 tax assessment for this property shows an increase in valuation due to "improvements". The plan of the house consisted of two center-hall, single-pile units joined by a center hyphen. The exterior walls were sheathed in beaded wood siding. The building's massing terminated in a gable roof sheathed in metal standing-seam panels. Wooden block modillions ornamented the front and rear eaves and partially returned cornices. Central brick exterior-end chimneys were located on each gable-end. Small attic vents punctuated the gable ends. The three-bay main facade was characterized by its symmetrical composition. A one-story hipped roof portico was centered on the facade and delineated the front entrance. Nine-over-nine-light, double-hung, wooden sash windows were aligned across this facade. The window openings were framed by louvered wood blinds. One-room un
caption: Circa 1800, Black Walnut Plantation
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