List of plantations in West Virginia facts for kids
Plantations that operated within the present-day boundaries of West Virginia were located in the counties of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and in the Kanawha and Ohio River valley regions. Beginning in the mid-to-late 18th century, members of the Washington family and other prominent Virginia families began to build elegant Georgian mansions on their plantations in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians region of present-day West Virginia. Plantations initially developed in the counties lying within the Northern Neck Proprietary of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron within the Shenandoah Valley and South Branch Potomac River valleys. Slavery as practiced through plantations in the American South was carried over from the plantations of the Piedmont and Tidewater regions of Virginia, where plantations had become the foundation of society and industry. Following the French and Indian War, settlement and agricultural development continued unabated in the Shenandoah and South Branch Potomac valleys. Early instances of western Virginia plantations with grand homes include the John Ariss-designed Harewood (1774) for George Washington's brother Samuel Washington and Happy Retreat (1780) built by Washington's younger brother Charles Washington, both of which are located near Charles Town in present-day Jefferson County. In Hampshire County, Nicholas Casey constructed a Georgian mansion (1774) at his Wappocomo plantation, one of the first plantation houses of its kind in the South Branch Potomac River valley.
Plantations continued to develop along the fringes of present-day West Virginia. By the close of the 18th century, Harman Blennerhassett had constructed a mansion on his plantation on Blennerhassett Island and Moses Shepherd had built Shepherd Hall near Wheeling, both in the Ohio River valley. Despite the agricultural development of then western Virginia's bottomlands and the resulting wealth of the plantation owners, the hinterlands of the Allegheny Mountains and Allegheny Plateau regions remained underpopulated and inhabited by subsistence farmers of meager means into the middle of the 19th century. By the 1860 United States Census, Berkeley, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Kanawha, and Monroe counties consequently had the largest populations of slaves in present-day West Virginia.
The economic and political differences between western and eastern Virginia began to grow. Following Virginia's secession from the Union in 1861, the Restored Government of Virginia was established at Wheeling during the American Civil War. Despite West Virginia receiving Union statehood on June 20, 1863, sympathies and loyalties within the state's borders remained divided, especially within areas economically dependent upon the plantation system. However, slaveowners in western Virginia tended to own fewer slaves than their counterparts in eastern Virginia and many did not support Virginia's secession. In Mason County, where small farms were reliant upon slavery, its residents overwhelmingly supported the Union cause. During the war, many plantations in West Virginia served as preferred venues for military headquarters and meeting places for both Union and Confederate military officers due to their adequate accommodations and resources. Altona near Charles Town was utilized as a military headquarters and meeting place for Union generals Philip Sheridan and Ulysses S. Grant, with Sheridan making use of the farm's horses and carriage. Other plantations, like Mill Island and Willow Wall near Moorefield, and Elmwood near Shepherdstown, were utilized as hospitals for wounded soldiers and irregulars.
In anticipation of the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the West Virginia Legislature at Wheeling passed an act abolishing slavery in West Virginia on February 3, 1865, thus ending the institution of the plantation in West Virginia. Since the 1960s, many of West Virginia's plantation houses have acquired places on the National Register of Historic Places, the United States government's official list of sites, buildings, and structures deemed worthy of preservation. The house at Traveller's Rest, near Kearneysville, is West Virginia's sole plantation house designated as a National Historic Landmark for its national-level historical significance. As of 2015, the majority of West Virginia's plantation houses remain under private ownership.
Key
| Color and symbol | Historic register listing |
|---|---|
| * | National Historic Landmark |
| † | National Register of Historic Places |
| ‡ | United States Historic District |
| Not listed on a register. |
Plantations
| NRHP reference number | Name | Image | Date designated | Locality | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03000346† | Christian Allemong House |  |
May 2, 2003 | Summit Point 39°14′14″N 77°58′43″W / 39.23722°N 77.97861°W |
Jefferson |
| 95001322† | Altona |  |
November 24, 1995 | Charles Town 39°17′24″N 77°52′57″W / 39.29000°N 77.88250°W |
Jefferson |
| 80004024† | Aspen Hill | March 13, 1980 | Charles Town 39°19′18″N 77°51′44″W / 39.32167°N 77.86222°W |
Jefferson | |
| 07000241† | Barleywood | May 24, 2007 | Charles Town 39°18′54″N 77°54′42″W / 39.31500°N 77.91167°W |
Jefferson | |
| 73001914† | Beall-Air |  |
August 17, 1973 | Halltown 39°18′55″N 77°48′44″W / 39.31528°N 77.81222°W |
Jefferson |
| 84003588† | Belvedere | January 12, 1984 | Charles Town 39°17′5″N 77°50′43″W / 39.28472°N 77.84528°W |
Jefferson | |
| 87000486† | Beverley |  |
March 20, 1987 | Charles Town 39°15′3″N 77°53′34″W / 39.25083°N 77.89278°W |
Jefferson |
| 82004319† | Blakeley | |
April 15, 1982 | Charles Town 39°15′36″N 77°54′22″W / 39.26000°N 77.90611°W |
Jefferson |
| 72001294‡ | Blennerhassett Island |  |
September 7, 1972 | Blennerhassett Island 39°16′19″N 81°37′29″W / 39.27194°N 81.62472°W |
Wood |
| 99001397‡ | Boidstones Place | November 22, 1999 | Shepherdstown 39°28′11″N 77°48′6″W / 39.46972°N 77.80167°W |
Jefferson | |
| 82004321† | The Bower |  |
April 15, 1982 | Leetown 39°21′54″N 77°57′27″W / 39.36500°N 77.95750°W |
Jefferson |
| The Burg |  |
Mechanicsburg 39°20′8.84″N 78°48′32.78″W / 39.3357889°N 78.8091056°W |
Hampshire | ||
| 74002004† | Cedar Lawn |  |
December 4, 1974 | Charles Town 39°17′6″N 77°55′22″W / 39.28500°N 77.92278°W |
Jefferson |
| 73001908† | Claymont Court |  |
July 25, 1973 | Charles Town 39°16′7″N 77°54′21″W / 39.26861°N 77.90583°W |
Jefferson |
| 73001917† | Cold Spring |  |
August 14, 1973 | Shepherdstown 39°23′48″N 77°49′5″W / 39.39667°N 77.81806°W |
Jefferson |
| 07000239† | Cool Spring |  |
March 27, 2007 | Charles Town 39°14′44″N 77°55′55″W / 39.24556°N 77.93194°W |
Jefferson |
| 94001292† | Cool Spring |  |
November 21, 1994 | Gerrardstown 39°19′53″N 78°06′23″W / 39.33139°N 78.10639°W |
Berkeley |
| 80004431† | Edgewood | December 10, 1980 | Bunker Hill 39°19′49″N 78°3′29″W / 39.33028°N 78.05806°W |
Berkeley | |
| 73001918† | Elmwood |  |
August 17, 1973 | Shepherdstown 39°23′50″N 77°48′50″W / 39.39722°N 77.81389°W |
Jefferson |
| 76001942† | Elmwood | May 13, 1976 | Union 37°35′44″N 80°32′23″W / 37.59556°N 80.53972°W |
Monroe | |
| 73001918‡ | Fort Hill |  |
January 9, 1997 | Burlington 39°18′37″N 78°56′8″W / 39.31028°N 78.93556°W |
Mineral |
| 78002791† | Green Bottom |  |
May 22, 1978 | Lesage 38°35′12″N 82°14′58″W / 38.58667°N 82.24944°W |
Cabell |
| 88002956‡ | Samuel Gwinn Plantation | March 8, 1989 | Lowell 37°38′55″N 80°43′35″W / 37.64861°N 80.72639°W |
Summers | |
| 73001912† | Happy Retreat |  |
July 2, 1973 | Charles Town 39°16′56″N 77°51′35″W / 39.28222°N 77.85972°W |
Jefferson |
| 73001909† | Harewood | |
March 14, 1973 | Charles Town 39°18′9″N 77°55′11″W / 39.30250°N 77.91972°W |
Jefferson |
| 76001938† | Hazelfield |  |
December 12, 1976 | Shenandoah Junction 39°22′25″N 77°51′36″W / 39.37361°N 77.86000°W |
Jefferson |
| 86000811‡ | Henderson Hall |  |
April 17, 1986 | Williamstown 39°22′40″N 81°28′58″W / 39.37778°N 81.48278°W |
Wood |
| 11000556† | Hickory Grove | August 18, 2011 | Romney 39°19′29″N 78°46′50″W / 39.32472°N 78.78056°W |
Hampshire | |
| 85003521† | Hillside | December 12, 1985 | Charles Town 39°15′47″N 77°52′5″W / 39.26306°N 77.86806°W |
Jefferson | |
| 74002007† | Holly Grove |  |
August 28, 1974 | Charleston 38°20′11″N 81°36′56″W / 38.33639°N 81.61556°W |
Kanawha |
| 94000214† | Hopewell | March 25, 1994 | Millville 39°16′4″N 77°47′36″W / 39.26778°N 77.79333°W |
Jefferson | |
| 84003476† | Lick Run Plantation |  |
January 12, 1984 | Bedington 39°31′10″N 77°54′2″W / 39.51944°N 77.90056°W |
Berkeley |
| 84003623† | Longmeadow/The Holmwood |  |
August 23, 1984 | Southside 38°42′11″N 81°58′4″W / 38.70306°N 81.96778°W |
Mason |
| 91000452‡ | Lynnside Manor |  |
April 26, 1991 | Sweet Springs 37°32′42″N 80°41′14″W / 37.54500°N 80.68722°W |
Monroe |
| 80004408‡ | Maidstone Manor |  |
December 10, 1980 | Hedgesville 39°35′14″N 77°54′32″W / 39.58722°N 77.90889°W |
Berkeley |
| 04000311† | Maidstone-on-the-Potomac |  |
April 15, 2004 | Falling Waters 39°35′59″N 77°50′21″W / 39.59972°N 77.83917°W |
Berkeley |
| 75001886† | The Manor | December 18, 1975 | Petersburg 39°0′36″N 79°7′40″W / 39.01000°N 79.12778°W |
Grant | |
| 93000616† | Media | November 10, 1994 | Shenandoah Junction 39°19′46″N 77°50′32″W / 39.32944°N 77.84222°W |
Jefferson | |
| 73001904† | Mill Island | July 2, 1973 | Moorefield 39°2′22″N 78°57′38″W / 39.03944°N 78.96056°W |
Hardy | |
| 75001888† | Montescena | November 12, 1975 | Lewisburg 37°46′14″N 80°28′33″W / 37.77056°N 80.47583°W |
Greenbrier | |
| 73001916† | Prato Rio |  |
April 11, 1973 | Leetown 39°20′49″N 77°56′12″W / 39.34694°N 77.93667°W |
Jefferson |
| 73001911† | Richwood Hall |  |
June 19, 1973 | Charles Town 39°17′32″N 77°55′51″W / 39.29222°N 77.93083°W |
Jefferson |
| 01001328‡ | Ridgedale | November 29, 2001 | Springfield 39°24′49″N 78°44′19″W / 39.41361°N 78.73861°W |
Hampshire | |
| 82004320† | Rion Hall |  |
September 20, 1982 | Halltown 39°18′4″N 77°49′2″W / 39.30111°N 77.81722°W |
Jefferson |
| 89002316‡ | Rockland | February 5, 1990 | Shepherdstown 39°24′30″N 77°51′29″W / 39.40833°N 77.85806°W |
Jefferson | |
| 84003500† | Rural Hill |  |
January 12, 1984 | Hedgesville 39°30′55″N 78°0′5″W / 39.51528°N 78.00139°W |
Berkeley |
| 78002791† | Shepherd Hall | |
December 18, 1970 | Wheeling 40°2′33″N 80°39′33″W / 40.04250°N 80.65917°W |
Ohio |
| 95000418† | Snow Hill | April 14, 1995 | Leetown 39°20′7″N 77°54′30″W / 39.33528°N 77.90833°W |
Jefferson | |
| 80004021† | Sycamore Dale | December 2, 1980 | Romney 39°20′15″N 78°46′24″W / 39.33750°N 78.77333°W |
Hampshire | |
| 72001288* | Traveller's Rest | .jpg) |
November 15, 1972 | Kearneysville 39°23′17.3″N 77°54′04.3″W / 39.388139°N 77.901194°W |
Jefferson |
| 12001050† | Valley View |  |
December 12, 2012 | Romney 39°21′23.4″N 78°45′35.25″W / 39.356500°N 78.7597917°W |
Hampshire |
| 84003594† | Vinton | January 12, 1984 | Charles Town 39°16′8″N 77°51′38″W / 39.26889°N 77.86056°W |
Jefferson | |
| 77001378† | Walnut Grove | August 22, 1977 | Union 37°36′9″N 80°32′29″W / 37.60250°N 80.54139°W |
Monroe | |
| Wappocomo |  |
Romney 39°21′37.24″N 78°45′10.21″W / 39.3603444°N 78.7528361°W |
Hampshire | ||
| 73001906† | Willow Wall | |
July 2, 1973 | Old Fields 39°7′40″N 78°57′56″W / 39.12778°N 78.96556°W |
Hardy |
| 93001358† | Willowbrook | December 2, 1993 | Union 37°34′30″N 80°32′19″W / 37.57500°N 80.53861°W |
Monroe | |
| 00000254† | Woodlawn | March 24, 2000 | Kearneysville 39°20′21″N 77°53′07″W / 39.33917°N 77.88528°W |
Jefferson | |
| 06000654† | York Hill |  |
July 26, 2006 | Shenandoah Junction 39°22′36″N 77°50′47″W / 39.37667°N 77.84639°W |
Jefferson |
See also
- History of slavery in West Virginia
- List of plantations in the United States
- National Register of Historic Places listings in West Virginia
