Blakeley | |
Nearest city | Charles Town, West Virginia |
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Coordinates | 39°15′36″N77°54′25″W / 39.26000°N 77.90694°W |
Built | 1820 |
Architectural style | Greek Revival, Federal |
NRHP reference No. | 82004319 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 15, 1982 |
Blakeley, near Charles Town, West Virginia is also known as the Washington - Chew - Funkhouser House, and was built in 1820 by John Augustine Washington II, great-nephew of George Washington and grandson of John Augustine Washington. It is a contemporary of its neighbor, Claymont Court, built across Bullskin Run by John's brother, Bushrod Corbin Washington. John Washington did not attempt to match the grandeur of Claymont Court, as he was in line to inherit Mount Vernon, and did so in 1829.
When it was originally built, Blakeley was a Federal style two-story brick house, three bays wide, with a western wing and a one-story portico. Renovations in the 1940s changed it to a five-bay structure, with a new Doric two-story portico and an elliptical transom over the front door. The interior of the main house has eight rooms with a central hallway. [2]
Upon John Augustine Washington's death at Mount Vernon in 1832, his son, Richard Blackburn Washington, inherited Blakeley. In 1844 Richard married his cousin, Christian Washington of Harewood. In 1859, Richard was part of the posse that pursued John Brown's Raiders. After the death of Richard's brother John Augustine Washington III in 1861 while fighting for the Confederacy, John's eight orphaned children came to live at Blakeley, joining Richard and Christian Washington's seven. In 1864 Blakeley was extensively damaged by fire, but was rebuilt by Richard. In 1875 Richard was forced to sell Blakeley and moved with his family to Harewood.
The house was purchased by Louise Fontaine Washington Chew, the niece of Richard B. Washington. Chew's husband, Colonel R. Preston Chew was a local businessman, the president of the Charles Town Mining, Manufacturing and Improvement Company. The house was then sold in 1892 to John Burns, a local farmer and community leader.
Blakeley was purchased in 1943 by industrialist Raymond J. Funkhouser, who undertook its restoration. Funkhouser had also purchased Claymont Court, which he used as his residence. It was Funkhouser who, feeling that a Washington house should be more grand, and wishing to complement Claymont Court, added the two-story portico. The interior was more carefully renovated, and in keeping with the historical record. [3]
Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmark, the estate lies on the banks of the Potomac River in Fairfax County, Virginia, approximately 15 miles south of Washington, D.C..
Augustine Washington Sr. was an American planter and merchant. Born in Westmoreland, Virginia, he was the father of ten children, among them the first president of the United States, George Washington, soldier and politician Lawrence Washington, and politician Charles Washington. Born into the planter class of the British colony of Virginia, Washington owned several slave plantations, from which he derived the primary source of his wealth. He also speculated in land development and owned an iron mine. Although Washington never sat in the House of Burgesses, as did his own father and son, he served in various government positions in the counties where he owned land.
Samuel Washington was an American planter, politician and military officer best known for being the younger brother of the first president of the United States, George Washington.
Happy Retreat is a historic property in Charles Town, West Virginia, which was originally owned and developed by Charles Washington, the youngest brother of George Washington and the founder of Charles Town.
John Augustine Washington Sr. was an American planter and politician best known as the younger brother of George Washington and the father of Supreme Court Justice Bushrod Washington., he was also the grandfather of John Augustine Washington Jr
Claymont Court, or simply Claymont, is a Georgian-style brick mansion, the grandest of several built near Charles Town, West Virginia for members of the Washington family. The current "Big House" was built in 1840 for Bushrod Corbin Washington, nephew of Supreme Court justice Bushrod Washington and grand-nephew of George Washington, to replace the 1820 main house on his plantation that burned in 1838.
Cedar Lawn, also known as Berry Hill and Poplar Hill, is one of several houses built near Charles Town, West Virginia for members of the Washington family. Cedar Lawn was built in 1825 for John Thornton Augustine Washington, George Washington's grand-nephew. The property was originally part of the Harewood estate belonging to Samuel Washington. The property that eventually became Cedar Lawn was left to Samuel's son, Thornton Washington, who built "Berry Hill", named for his wife's family. Berry Hill was destroyed by fire, and John Thornton Augustine built Cedar Lawn when he inherited.
Harewood is one of several houses in the vicinity of Charles Town, West Virginia built for members of the Washington family.
Altona, near Charles Town, West Virginia, is a historic farm with an extensive set of subsidiary buildings. The original Federal style plantation house was built in 1793 by Revolutionary War officer Abraham Davenport on land purchased from Charles Washington. The house was expanded by Abraham's son, Colonel Braxton Davenport. During the Civil War the farm was a favored encampment. Generals Philip Sheridan and Ulysses S. Grant both used the house as a headquarters and meeting place.
The Hermitage near Charles Town, West Virginia is historic property which includes several buildings, as well as non-contributing tennis courts and a pool. The oldest structure is a small stone cottage dating to circa 1734, making it one of the oldest buildings in West Virginia. It resembles Prato Rio in nearby Leetown, West Virginia and may date to this property's first owner, Daniel Barnett, who was a partner in the Burr Iron Works circa 1740, the first of its kind in the state. A stone privy is also believed to be the oldest structure of its kind in the state.
Beall-Air, also known as the Colonel Lewis William Washington House, is a two-story stuccoed brick house in classical revival style near Halltown, West Virginia. It was the home of Colonel Lewis William Washington, great-great nephew of President George Washington and hostage in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Roger Preston Chew was a noted horse artillery commander in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War for General Turner Ashby. After the war, he was a prominent West Virginia businessman and railroad executive, as well as a West Virginia legislator.
George Washington's Gristmill was part of the original Mount Vernon plantation, constructed during the lifetime of the United States' first president. The original structure was destroyed about 1850. The Commonwealth of Virginia and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association have reconstructed the gristmill and the adjacent distillery. The reconstructed buildings are located at their original site three miles (4.8 km) west of the Mount Vernon mansion near Woodlawn Plantation in the Mont Vernon area of Fairfax County. Because the reconstructed buildings embody the distinctive characteristics of late eighteenth century methods of production and are of importance to the history of Virginia, the site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places despite the fact that the buildings are not original.
George Steptoe Washington was a Virginia planter and militia officer who died at the age of 37 of tuberculosis.
St. Julien is an historic plantation home located in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The main house was built by Francis Taliaferro Brooke in 1794, with an addition added in 1812. There are several outbuildings that surround the main house. They include a slave quarters, smokehouse, milk house and law office used by Francis Brooke. Though relatively small in size, the home is exemplary of Federal architecture. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June 1975
Waveland is a historic plantation house and farm located near Marshall, Fauquier County, Virginia in the Carter's Run Rural Historic District. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, and the surrounding district listed in 2014.
Bushfield, also known as Bushfield Manor, is a historic 2+1⁄2-story Flemish bond, 18th century brick Colonial Revival mansion located in Mount Holly, Westmoreland County, Virginia.
Panorama is a historic estate in Montross, Virginia. The 2+1⁄2-story brick Colonial Revival house, located on an estate of over 130 acres (53 ha), was built in 1932 to a design by Joseph Evans Sperry for local politician and attorney Charles E. Stuart, and has been virtually unaltered since its construction. The building is sited between the two branches of Chandler's Mill Pond, and has two main facades, one facing the long drive from the road, and the other facing south toward the lake. The house is prominently visible from the Kings Highway, which crosses the Chandler's Mill Pond Dam.
Sarah Johnson was an African American woman who was born into slavery at Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate in Fairfax, Virginia. She worked as a domestic, cleaning and caring for the residence. During the process, she became an informal historian of all of the mansion's furnishings. After the end of the Civil War, she was hired by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, ultimately becoming a council member of the organization. She bought four acres of Mount Vernon land to establish a small farm. The book Sarah Johnson's Mount Vernon (2008) tells the story of her life within the complex community of people who inhabited Mount Vernon.
Bushrod Corbin Washington was a Virginia planter and politician, nephew of Supreme Court Justice Bushrod Washington, and grandfather of Confederate soldier and author Bushrod C. Washington (1839–1919) also discussed below.