Brockenbrough-Peyton House, Port Royal 2
This is a creative commons image, which you may freely use by linking to this page. Please respect the photographer and his work.
The date of the Brockenbrough-Peyton House is not certain, but it dates before 1768 when Champe Brockenbrough assumed ownership. An updated and more descriptive nomination form from 2020 suggests the date circa 1744, the time of the town's incorporation. I've seen other references to a time between circa 1760-1765. The house in Georgian in style, an American adaptation of the English style; it's characterized by symmetry and simplicity. Two stories high and five bays wide, the wood structure has a hipped roof of standing seam metal and a weatherboard exterior. The cornice is modillioned. An interior brick chimney is at each side of the house. The porch is probably a much later addition to the original. It has a shed roof supported by six wooden Doric posts and two half-posts flush with the building's surface. Windows are boarded on front and side. The entrance, not very visible, is topped with a transom.
The updated nomination form was added to the National Register of Historic Places March 9, 2021 with reference ID 70000786. The pdf file of the form is located at www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/284-0047_...
The original nomination 1970, which did not individualize properties is at
www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/284-0047_Por...
The sign on the front facade of this mid-18th century home reads: "Opportunity to Restore This Historic House Where Presidents and John Wilkes Booth Have Visited". It's indicative of the problem Port Royal has--the survival of its historical and cultural heritage. I don't know if the house has been restored, but there is a community effort to revive this once flourishing colonial Virginia tobacco port on the Rappahannock River. Located in Caroline County, Virginia, the settlement dates from 1652 and became a town in 1744. For a community with a 202 population of 151, there are three museums; it's hoped that the efforts at historical tourism will be enhanced. There are numerous structures in need of restoration. At one time John D. Rockefeller had looked at Port Royal as a community worthy of restoration; however, Williamsburg was selected.
John Wilkes Booth, actor famous for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, had sought refuge at the Brockenbrough-Peyton House but was turned away by Jane Peyton, sister of the owner. She explained to Booth's group that since her brother was away, it wouldn't be proper for the soldiers to stay. Booth was killed by federal troops 12 days later in the Port Royal vicinity.
A variety of links:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Royal,_Virginia
Historic Port Royal Inc--archived on Wayback Machine at archive.org
web.archive.org/web/20071027164916/http://www.historicpor...
wamu.org/story/15/07/03/endangered_port_royal_va_fights_t...
preservationvirginia.blogspot.com/2015/08/2015-most-endan...
www.historicportroyal.net/project/peyton-brockenbrough/
www.flickr.com/photos/moyersteam/8101889597 (John Wilkes Booth connection)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Brockenbrough-Peyton House, Port Royal 2
This is a creative commons image, which you may freely use by linking to this page. Please respect the photographer and his work.
The date of the Brockenbrough-Peyton House is not certain, but it dates before 1768 when Champe Brockenbrough assumed ownership. An updated and more descriptive nomination form from 2020 suggests the date circa 1744, the time of the town's incorporation. I've seen other references to a time between circa 1760-1765. The house in Georgian in style, an American adaptation of the English style; it's characterized by symmetry and simplicity. Two stories high and five bays wide, the wood structure has a hipped roof of standing seam metal and a weatherboard exterior. The cornice is modillioned. An interior brick chimney is at each side of the house. The porch is probably a much later addition to the original. It has a shed roof supported by six wooden Doric posts and two half-posts flush with the building's surface. Windows are boarded on front and side. The entrance, not very visible, is topped with a transom.
The updated nomination form was added to the National Register of Historic Places March 9, 2021 with reference ID 70000786. The pdf file of the form is located at www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/284-0047_...
The original nomination 1970, which did not individualize properties is at
www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/284-0047_Por...
The sign on the front facade of this mid-18th century home reads: "Opportunity to Restore This Historic House Where Presidents and John Wilkes Booth Have Visited". It's indicative of the problem Port Royal has--the survival of its historical and cultural heritage. I don't know if the house has been restored, but there is a community effort to revive this once flourishing colonial Virginia tobacco port on the Rappahannock River. Located in Caroline County, Virginia, the settlement dates from 1652 and became a town in 1744. For a community with a 202 population of 151, there are three museums; it's hoped that the efforts at historical tourism will be enhanced. There are numerous structures in need of restoration. At one time John D. Rockefeller had looked at Port Royal as a community worthy of restoration; however, Williamsburg was selected.
John Wilkes Booth, actor famous for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, had sought refuge at the Brockenbrough-Peyton House but was turned away by Jane Peyton, sister of the owner. She explained to Booth's group that since her brother was away, it wouldn't be proper for the soldiers to stay. Booth was killed by federal troops 12 days later in the Port Royal vicinity.
A variety of links:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Royal,_Virginia
Historic Port Royal Inc--archived on Wayback Machine at archive.org
web.archive.org/web/20071027164916/http://www.historicpor...
wamu.org/story/15/07/03/endangered_port_royal_va_fights_t...
preservationvirginia.blogspot.com/2015/08/2015-most-endan...
www.historicportroyal.net/project/peyton-brockenbrough/
www.flickr.com/photos/moyersteam/8101889597 (John Wilkes Booth connection)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.