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Like unveiling a long-lost mosaic, Preservation Virginia archaeologists remove soil accumulated over nearly four centuries to reveal the footprint of 1607 James Fort. Traces of the original trenches dug by settlers to support their protective timber walls represent the "triangular-wise" shape of James Fort described by the earliest colonists. A semi-circular palisade trench and ditch mark the location of a bulwark, a defense located at the corners of the fort. Soil stains left by the decayed timber supports of a building and a deep pit filled with discarded armor and weapons are evidence of the daily life of soldiers during their challenging first years of settlement.
Read more about the dig:
All Images © 2019 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
This Live Oak tree was planted in 1965 by the Magna Carta Commission of Virginia to commemorate the 750 anniversary of the Magna Carta in 1215. The plaque reads, "Out of these roots have sprung great liberties of man, great principles of law."
All Images © 2017 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
John Smith led the Virginia Colony at Jamestown from September 1608 to August 1609. While training the early settlers to farm and work, he said: "He that will not work, shall not eat." Smith led the colony through harsh weather, lack of food & water, swampy wilderness, and Native American Indian attacks. Under Smith's leadership, Jamestown survived and eventually flourished. After being wounded by a mysterious gunpowder explosion, Smith returned to England in October 1609, never to return to Virginia.
John Marshall House, Richmond, Virginia
The Large Dining Room
Guests to the home of John Marshall, fourth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, would have been entertained in this room. Early in his career, Marshall used this room as an office.
All Images © 2019 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
All Images © 2017 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
Bacon's Castle (1665), Surry County, VA. Built in 1665, it is nearly a century older than the popular structures seen across the James River in Colonial Williamsburg. The house was built by Arthur Allen as his plantation home. The name "Bacon's Castle" derives from its role in Bacon's Rebellion of 1676. In that year, Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion against the Virginia colonial government in Jamestown, drove the Allen family from the house, and used it as a fortification. The popular name stuck. The house is interesting architecturally because it is a rare example of Jacobean design in the Western Hemisphere and the only one in the USA. 465 Bacon's Castle Trail.
National Historic Landmark. National Register of Historic Places 66000849
Bacon's Castle is administered by Preservation Virginia.
preservationvirginia.org/visit/historic-properties/bacons...
Virginia018
All Images © 2017 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
This basement is in the middle of the original James Fort. They started excavating it last year and concluded that this cellar contained all the trash from when they cleaned up the fort up in the Spring of 1610, after the horrible winter they call "the Starving Time." Last summer, they discovered the skeleton of a girl who showed signs of having been butchered, the first physical evidence of cannibalism at James Fort, in this cellar.
All Images © 2017 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
All Images © 2017 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
This basement is in the middle of the original James Fort. They started excavating it last year and concluded that this cellar contained all the trash from when they cleaned up the fort up in the Spring of 1610, after the horrible winter they call "the Starving Time." Last summer, they discovered the skeleton of a girl who showed signs of having been butchered, the first physical evidence of cannibalism at James Fort, in this cellar.
All Images © 2019 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
**Bacon's Castle** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000849, date listed 19661015
Off VA 10
Bacon's Castle, VA (Surry County)
A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).
The nation’s outstanding example of high-style 17th-century domestic architecture, and the oldest documented house in Virginia, Bacon’s Castle was erected in 1665 for Arthur Allen. Pure Jacobean in form and detail, the house is distinguished by its cruciform plan, curvilinear gables, and diagonal chimney stacks. It acquired its present name in 1676, when, during Bacon’s Rebellion, the house was fortified by a group of Nathaniel Bacon’s followers. The house was modified in the 18th century when the first-floor paneling was installed and the windows were changed from casements to wooden sash. Further alterations occurred in the 1840s when a Greek Revival wing was added. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) purchased the property in 1973 and exhibits it as a museum. On the grounds is a vast formal garden, reconstructed from archaeological evidence of the original 17th-century garden. (1)
Bacon’s Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was once the home of Arthur Allen, a prosperous merchant and planter, and his family. Allen’s Brick House earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion. (2)
Circa 1850. The smokehouse has most of its original weather board, trim and hardware. Its large size suggests it was also used for storing and curing meat. Interior mortises are provided for moving rafters to alter the use of the space as needed. (from local signage)
References (1) VA Dept of Historic Resources www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/090-0001/
(2) Preservation VA preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/#
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
**Bacon's Castle** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000849, date listed 19661015
Off VA 10
Bacon's Castle, VA (Surry County)
A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).
The nation’s outstanding example of high-style 17th-century domestic architecture, and the oldest documented house in Virginia, Bacon’s Castle was erected in 1665 for Arthur Allen. Pure Jacobean in form and detail, the house is distinguished by its cruciform plan, curvilinear gables, and diagonal chimney stacks. It acquired its present name in 1676, when, during Bacon’s Rebellion, the house was fortified by a group of Nathaniel Bacon’s followers. The house was modified in the 18th century when the first-floor paneling was installed and the windows were changed from casements to wooden sash. Further alterations occurred in the 1840s when a Greek Revival wing was added. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) purchased the property in 1973 and exhibits it as a museum. On the grounds is a vast formal garden, reconstructed from archaeological evidence of the original 17th-century garden. (1)
Bacon’s Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was once the home of Arthur Allen, a prosperous merchant and planter, and his family. Allen’s Brick House earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion. (2)
Circa 1850. The smokehouse has most of its original weather board, trim and hardware. Its large size suggests it was also used for storing and curing meat. Interior mortises are provided for moving rafters to alter the use of the space as needed. (from local signage)
References (1) VA Dept of Historic Resources www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/090-0001/
(2) Preservation VA preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/#
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
**Bacon's Castle** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000849, date listed 19661015
Off VA 10
Bacon's Castle, VA (Surry County)
A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).
The nation’s outstanding example of high-style 17th-century domestic architecture, and the oldest documented house in Virginia, Bacon’s Castle was erected in 1665 for Arthur Allen. Pure Jacobean in form and detail, the house is distinguished by its cruciform plan, curvilinear gables, and diagonal chimney stacks. It acquired its present name in 1676, when, during Bacon’s Rebellion, the house was fortified by a group of Nathaniel Bacon’s followers. The house was modified in the 18th century when the first-floor paneling was installed and the windows were changed from casements to wooden sash. Further alterations occurred in the 1840s when a Greek Revival wing was added. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) purchased the property in 1973 and exhibits it as a museum. On the grounds is a vast formal garden, reconstructed from archaeological evidence of the original 17th-century garden. (1)
Bacon’s Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was once the home of Arthur Allen, a prosperous merchant and planter, and his family. Allen’s Brick House earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion. (2)
References (1) VA Dept of Historic Resources www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/090-0001/
(2) Preservation VA preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/#
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
**Bacon's Castle** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000849, date listed 19661015
Off VA 10
Bacon's Castle, VA (Surry County)
A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).
The nation’s outstanding example of high-style 17th-century domestic architecture, and the oldest documented house in Virginia, Bacon’s Castle was erected in 1665 for Arthur Allen. Pure Jacobean in form and detail, the house is distinguished by its cruciform plan, curvilinear gables, and diagonal chimney stacks. It acquired its present name in 1676, when, during Bacon’s Rebellion, the house was fortified by a group of Nathaniel Bacon’s followers. The house was modified in the 18th century when the first-floor paneling was installed and the windows were changed from casements to wooden sash. Further alterations occurred in the 1840s when a Greek Revival wing was added. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) purchased the property in 1973 and exhibits it as a museum. On the grounds is a vast formal garden, reconstructed from archaeological evidence of the original 17th-century garden. (1)
Bacon’s Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was once the home of Arthur Allen, a prosperous merchant and planter, and his family. Allen’s Brick House earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion. (2)
References (1) VA Dept of Historic Resources www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/090-0001/
(2) Preservation VA preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/#
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
Triple-stacked chimneys at Bacon's Castle (1665), Surry County, VA. The triple-stacked chimney is a unique Jacobean design element.
National Historic Landmark. National Register of Historic Places 66000849
Bacon's Castle is administered by Preservation Virginia.
preservationvirginia.org/visit/historic-properties/bacons...
Virginia019
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
**Bacon's Castle** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000849, date listed 19661015
Off VA 10
Bacon's Castle, VA (Surry County)
A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).
The nation’s outstanding example of high-style 17th-century domestic architecture, and the oldest documented house in Virginia, Bacon’s Castle was erected in 1665 for Arthur Allen. Pure Jacobean in form and detail, the house is distinguished by its cruciform plan, curvilinear gables, and diagonal chimney stacks. It acquired its present name in 1676, when, during Bacon’s Rebellion, the house was fortified by a group of Nathaniel Bacon’s followers. The house was modified in the 18th century when the first-floor paneling was installed and the windows were changed from casements to wooden sash. Further alterations occurred in the 1840s when a Greek Revival wing was added. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) purchased the property in 1973 and exhibits it as a museum. On the grounds is a vast formal garden, reconstructed from archaeological evidence of the original 17th-century garden. (1)
Bacon’s Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was once the home of Arthur Allen, a prosperous merchant and planter, and his family. Allen’s Brick House earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion. (2)
This building was first constructed in 1829 by the Cocke family, descendants of Arthur Allen. There was a single door and a porch. In 1834 there were eighty slaves working on the property, some of whom were probably housed in this building. The Hankins family, who owned the property during the Civil War, added an addition and possibly removed the porch in 1849. The floor plan today matches what would have been present in the late 1800s. (from local signage)
References (1) VA Dept of Historic Resources www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/090-0001/
(2) Preservation VA preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/#
All Images © 2017 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
This basement is in the middle of the original James Fort. They started excavating it last year and concluded that this cellar contained all the trash from when they cleaned up the fort up in the Spring of 1610, after the horrible winter they call "the Starving Time." Last summer, they discovered the skeleton of a girl who showed signs of having been butchered, the first physical evidence of cannibalism at James Fort, in this cellar.
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
Old Towne, Jamestown, VA
www.preservationvirginia.org/rediscovery/page.php?page_id...
"The First and Second Churches--Captain John Smith reported that the first church services were held outdoors "under an awning (which was an old saile)" fastened to three or four trees. Shortly thereafter the settlers built the first church inside the fort. Smith said it was "a homely thing like a barn set on crachetts, covered with rafts, sedge and earth." This church burned in January 1608 and was replaced by a second church, similar to the first. Made of wood it needed constant repair. Pocahontas and John Rolfe were married in the second church.
The Third Church--During the period between 1617 and 1619, Governor Samuel Argall had the inhabitants of Jamestown build a new church "50 foot long and twenty foot broad." It was a wooden church built on a foundation of cobblestones one foot wide capped by a wall one brick thick. You can see these foundations under the glass on the floor of the present building. The First Assembly was held in the third church. "
**Bacon's Castle** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000849, date listed 19661015
Off VA 10
Bacon's Castle, VA (Surry County)
A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).
The nation’s outstanding example of high-style 17th-century domestic architecture, and the oldest documented house in Virginia, Bacon’s Castle was erected in 1665 for Arthur Allen. Pure Jacobean in form and detail, the house is distinguished by its cruciform plan, curvilinear gables, and diagonal chimney stacks. It acquired its present name in 1676, when, during Bacon’s Rebellion, the house was fortified by a group of Nathaniel Bacon’s followers. The house was modified in the 18th century when the first-floor paneling was installed and the windows were changed from casements to wooden sash. Further alterations occurred in the 1840s when a Greek Revival wing was added. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) purchased the property in 1973 and exhibits it as a museum. On the grounds is a vast formal garden, reconstructed from archaeological evidence of the original 17th-century garden. (1)
Bacon’s Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was once the home of Arthur Allen, a prosperous merchant and planter, and his family. Allen’s Brick House earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion. (2)
This building was first constructed in 1829 by the Cocke family, descendants of Arthur Allen. There was a single door and a porch. In 1834 there were eighty slaves working on the property, some of whom were probably housed in this building. The Hankins family, who owned the property during the Civil War, added an addition and possibly removed the porch in 1849. The floor plan today matches what would have been present in the late 1800s. (from local signage)
References (1) VA Dept of Historic Resources www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/090-0001/
(2) Preservation VA preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/#
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
The free public event included an opening reception for the two-week pop-up exhibition, Afro-Virginia: People, Place and Power, and a panel discussion with some of the leading young voices in Virginia’s Black cultural preservation movement. This dynamic group of changemakers will imagine “historic justice and equity” and the decolonization of cultural heritage preservation in Virginia.
Panelists include:
Jobie Hill, Saving Slave Houses
Chardé Reid, William & Mary and Historic Jamestowne
Hannah Scruggs, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Justin Reid (moderator), Virginia Humanities. 2/17/2020. Peter Hedlund/Virginia Humanities
**Bacon's Castle** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000849, date listed 19661015
Off VA 10
Bacon's Castle, VA (Surry County)
A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).
The nation’s outstanding example of high-style 17th-century domestic architecture, and the oldest documented house in Virginia, Bacon’s Castle was erected in 1665 for Arthur Allen. Pure Jacobean in form and detail, the house is distinguished by its cruciform plan, curvilinear gables, and diagonal chimney stacks. It acquired its present name in 1676, when, during Bacon’s Rebellion, the house was fortified by a group of Nathaniel Bacon’s followers. The house was modified in the 18th century when the first-floor paneling was installed and the windows were changed from casements to wooden sash. Further alterations occurred in the 1840s when a Greek Revival wing was added. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) purchased the property in 1973 and exhibits it as a museum. On the grounds is a vast formal garden, reconstructed from archaeological evidence of the original 17th-century garden. (1)
Bacon’s Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was once the home of Arthur Allen, a prosperous merchant and planter, and his family. Allen’s Brick House earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion. (2)
This building was first constructed in 1829 by the Cocke family, descendants of Arthur Allen. There was a single door and a porch. In 1834 there were eighty slaves working on the property, some of whom were probably housed in this building. The Hankins family, who owned the property during the Civil War, added an addition and possibly removed the porch in 1849. The floor plan today matches what would have been present in the late 1800s. (from local signage)
References (1) VA Dept of Historic Resources www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/090-0001/
(2) Preservation VA preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/#
All Images © 2017 Paul Diming - All Rights Reserved - Unauthorized Use Prohibited. Please visit www.pauldiming.com!
**Bacon's Castle** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000849, date listed 19661015
Off VA 10
Bacon's Castle, VA (Surry County)
A National Historic Landmark (www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/list-of-nh...).
The nation’s outstanding example of high-style 17th-century domestic architecture, and the oldest documented house in Virginia, Bacon’s Castle was erected in 1665 for Arthur Allen. Pure Jacobean in form and detail, the house is distinguished by its cruciform plan, curvilinear gables, and diagonal chimney stacks. It acquired its present name in 1676, when, during Bacon’s Rebellion, the house was fortified by a group of Nathaniel Bacon’s followers. The house was modified in the 18th century when the first-floor paneling was installed and the windows were changed from casements to wooden sash. Further alterations occurred in the 1840s when a Greek Revival wing was added. The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia) purchased the property in 1973 and exhibits it as a museum. On the grounds is a vast formal garden, reconstructed from archaeological evidence of the original 17th-century garden. (1)
Bacon’s Castle is the oldest brick dwelling in North America and was once the home of Arthur Allen, a prosperous merchant and planter, and his family. Allen’s Brick House earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during the uprising that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion. (2)
References (1) VA Dept of Historic Resources www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/090-0001/
(2) Preservation VA preservationvirginia.org/historic-sites/bacons-castle/#