Bassett Hall

Last updated
Bassett Hall BassettHall-2010-04-04.jpg
Bassett Hall

Bassett Hall is an 18th-century farmhouse located in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was the home of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller during the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg.

Williamsburg, Virginia Independent city in Virginia

Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 14,068. In 2014, the population was estimated to be 14,691. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is bordered by James City County and York County.

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller American socialite and philanthropist

Abigail Greene "Abby" Aldrich Rockefeller was an American socialite and philanthropist. Through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., she was a prominent member of the Rockefeller family. Referred to as the "woman in the family", she was known for being the driving force behind the establishment of the Museum of Modern Art, on 53rd Street in New York, in November 1929.

Colonial Williamsburg Living-history museum and private foundation presenting part of an historic district in the city of Williamsburg, VA

Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting part of an historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Colonial Williamsburg's 301-acre (122 ha) Historic Area includes buildings from the 18th century, as well as 17th-century, 19th-century, and Colonial Revival structures, as well as more recent reconstructions. The Historic Area is an interpretation of a colonial American city, with exhibits of dozens of restored or re-created buildings related to its colonial and American Revolutionary War history. Colonial Williamsburg's Historic Area's combination of restoration and re-creation of parts of the colonial town's three main thoroughfares and their connecting side streets attempts to suggest the atmosphere and the circumstances of 18th-century Americans. Colonial Williamsburg's motto has been: "That the future may learn from the past".

Contents

Early history

The house was built by Philip Johnson, a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, between 1753 and 1766. It was named for Martha Washington's nephew, Burwell Bassett, who purchased the house in 1800. [1]

House of Burgesses Virginias legislative body during the Colonial period

The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established in 1619, became a bicameral institution.

Martha Washington First Lady of the United States

Martha Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first President of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural First Lady of the United States. During her lifetime she was often referred to as "Lady Washington".

Burwell Bassett, Jr. was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1787 to 1789, and the Virginia Senate from 1794 to 1805.

During the Civil War, the Union cavalryman George Armstrong Custer was a guest in the home for 10 days. Custer was in town to attend the wedding of a West Point classmate, a Confederate who had been wounded in the Battle of Williamsburg. [2]

George Armstrong Custer United States Army cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars

George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars.

Battle of Williamsburg Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged, fighting an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their withdrawal.

Rockefeller Home

In 1926, Rev. Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin of Bruton Parish Church approached philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. with the idea of preserving and restoring the historic buildings of Williamsburg. After strolling through the great trees behind Bassett Hall in contemplation, Rockefeller agreed. [3] Goodwin later suggested:

Bruton Parish Church church in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States of America

Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Episcopal parish. The building, constructed 1711-15, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 as a well-preserved early example of colonial religious architecture.

I wish you would buy Bassett Hall for yourself. It would give you a charming vantage point from which to play with the vision and dream which you see. [4]

Bassett Hall became the Rockefellers' residence during their twice-annual visits to Williamsburg. [5]

Open to the Public

The Rockefeller family bequeathed Bassett Hall to Colonial Williamsburg in 1979. [6] The home is now open to the public and appears much as it did in the 1930s and 1940s when the Rockefellers made it their home. [7] The gardens are in the Colonial Revival style. [8]

Related Research Articles

James City County, Virginia County in the United States

James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 67,009. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg.

Nelson W. Aldrich American politician

Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich was a prominent American politician and a leader of the Republican Party in the United States Senate, where he served from 1881 to 1911. By the 1890s he was one of the "Big Four" key Republicans who largely controlled the major decisions of the Senate, along with Orville H. Platt, William B. Allison and John Coit Spooner. Because of his impact on national politics and central position on the pivotal Senate Finance Committee, he was referred to by the press and public alike as the "General Manager of the Nation", dominating tariff and monetary policy in the first decade of the 20th century.

Virginia Peninsula

The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the Lower Peninsula to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the north, the Middle Peninsula and the Northern Neck.

The Rockefeller family is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was initially made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller, primarily through Standard Oil. The family is also known for its long association with, and control of, Chase Manhattan Bank. The Rockefellers are considered to be one of the most powerful families, if not the most powerful family, in the history of the United States.

William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin was an Episcopal priest, historian, and author. As the rector of Bruton Parish Church, Goodwin began the 20th century preservation and restoration effort which resulted in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. He is thus sometimes called "the Father of the Restoration of Colonial Williamsburg."

Governors Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia) architectural structure

The Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia was the official residence of the Royal Governors of the Colony of Virginia. It was also a home for two of Virginia's post-colonial governors, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, until the capital was moved to Richmond in 1780, and with it the Governor's residence. The main house burned down in 1781, though the outbuildings survived for some time after.

Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia)

The Capitol at Williamsburg, Virginia housed the House of Burgesses of the Colony of Virginia from 1705, when the capital was relocated there from Jamestown, until 1779, when the capital was relocated to Richmond. Two capitol buildings served the colony on the same site: the first from 1705 until its destruction by fire in 1747; the second from 1753 to 1779.

Kingsmill is a geographic area in James City County, Virginia, that includes a large planned residential community, a resort complex, a theme park, a brewery, and a commercial park.

Raleigh Tavern

The Raleigh Tavern was a tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia, and was one of the largest taverns in colonial Virginia. It gained some fame in the pre-American Revolutionary War Colony of Virginia as a gathering place for legislators after several Royal Governors officially dissolved the House of Burgesses, the elected legislative body, when their actions did not suit the Crown. It was also the site of the founding of the Phi Beta Kappa Society on December 5, 1776.

Parke Shepherd Rouse Jr. was an American journalist, writer and historian in Tidewater Virginia.

DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum Art gallery in Williamsburg, Virginia

The DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum (DWDAM), is a museum dedicated to British and American fine and decorative arts from 1670-1840, located in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Vernon Geddy American football, basketball, and baseball coach, college athletics administrator

Vernon Meredith Geddy Sr. was an attorney based in Williamsburg, Virginia. He attended the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia, and served W&M as the head coach for the William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team for the 1918–19 season.

History of Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg, Virginia, has had a long history dating to the 17th century. The city was first named Middle Plantation and changed its name to Williamsburg in 1699.

History of Hampton Roads

The history of Hampton Roads dates to 1607, when Jamestown was founded. Two wars have taken place in addition to many other historical events.

J. A. C. Chandler American historian, author and educator; 18th president of The College of William and Mary

Julian Alvin Carroll "J. A. C." Chandler was an American historian, author and educator. He is best known as the 18th president of The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he served as the successor to retiring fellow educator and author Dr. Lyon Gardiner Tyler. Dr. Chandler is credited with transforming the institution from a small, struggling liberal arts college for men into a modern coeducational institution of higher learning.

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum (AARFAM) is the United States' first and the world's oldest continually-operated museum dedicated to the preservation, collection, and exhibition of American folk art.

References

  1. ↑ House built by member of Virginia House of Burgesses
  2. ↑ Union officer guest in Confederate home
  3. ↑ Home's History impressed Rockefeller
  4. ↑ George Humphrey Yetter (1988). "Williamsburg Before and After: The Rebirth of Virginia's Colonial Capital", p. 54. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg. ISBN   0-87935-077-6
  5. ↑ Hall becomes Rockefeller home
  6. ↑ Completed two-year renovation in 2002
  7. ↑ 20th-century family home
  8. ↑ Wright, Renee. Virginia Beach, Richmond & Tidewater Virginia including Williamsburg, Norfolk and Jamestown: A Great Destination. Woodstock, Vt.: Countryman Press, 2010, p. 161.

Coordinates: 37°16′14.85″N76°41′34.97″W / 37.2707917°N 76.6930472°W / 37.2707917; -76.6930472

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.