Edge Hill (Shadwell, Virginia)

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Edge Hill
Edge Hill entrance.jpg
Entrance to the estate
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Usa edcp location map.svg
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LocationNorth of Shadwell on State Route 22, near Shadwell, Virginia
Coordinates 38°1′2″N78°23′42″W / 38.01722°N 78.39500°W / 38.01722; -78.39500 Coordinates: 38°1′2″N78°23′42″W / 38.01722°N 78.39500°W / 38.01722; -78.39500
Area96 acres (39 ha)
Builtc. 1799, 1828, 1916
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Federal
NRHP reference No. 82004537 [1]
VLR No.002-0026
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 10, 1983
Designated VLRJune 15, 1982 [2]

Edge Hill, also known as Edgehill and Edgehill Farm, is a historic house located near Shadwell in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States. [3]

Contents

Early history

William Randolph of Tuckahoe acquired 2400 acres as a land grant from King George II in 1735, and it was inherited by his son Thomas Mann Randolph, Sr. of Tuckahoe. In 1790, he gave it and his Varina plantation near Richmond to his son Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. as a wedding gift when the younger Randolph marries Martha Jefferson, daughter of Virginia governor and U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. [4]

The younger Randolphs came to prefer the cooler mountain air of Albemarle County, so they built a one-story, wood-frame structure on the property about 1799, but they preferred living at Monticello. Randolph Jr. acted as an overseer at Jefferson's plantation as well as ran this one, but also ran up [4] and inherited great debt. [5] The current two-story, brick main house dates from 1828, and was rebuilt in 1916, after a fire gutted the interior. Thomas Jefferson Randolph, one of Randolph Jr.'s sons who became Thomas Jefferson's favorite grandson and beneficiary of his papers as well as executor of his estate, acquired his debt-ridden father's estate (house, land and slaves) at an auction on January 2, 1826. About two years later, he hired William B. Phillips and Malcolm F. Crawford (local master mason and master carpenter, respectively) to built this house in the style of Monticello (which often can be viewed from it), the University of Virginia and other historic Charlottesville properties. [1]

Edge Hill School for Girls

That original Edgehill structure remains on the property, having been rolled to the hilltop and used as a private academy run by Jane Hollins Nicholas Randolph beginning in 1829 until about 1850 and as an academy for young ladies from 1867 until 1900, as well as used an office. [4]

Later years

The property passed out of the Randolph family in 1902, following the death of Carolina Ramsay Randolph. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. [1]

Related Research Articles

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Thomas Mann Randolph Sr. served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Revolutionary conventions of 1775 and 1776, and the Virginia state legislature. Married twice, he fathered 15 children. One marriage was to a cousin, Anne Cary, with whom they had 13 children. His second marriage, which resulted in two children, caused a dissention among family members. The youngest son, with the same name as his half-brother, Thomas Mann Randolph, inherited the family plantation, Tuckahoe plantation. Randolph expanded upon the house that began to be built during his parent's short marriage. Orphaned as a young boy, Randolph continued work on Tuckahoe when he came of age. He also purchased Salisbury house, which was used during his lifetime as a hunting lodge.

William Randolph III (son of Thomas)

William Randolph III was the son of Thomas Randolph of Tuckahoe in Goochland County, Virginia. He built the elegant two-story residence for Tuckahoe. Randolph held the positions of Clerk and Justice in Goochland County and he represented the county as a member of the House of Burgesses. He was the first Clerk of Albemarle County.

Belmont Plantation (Albemarle County, Virginia)

Belmont Plantation, also known as Belmont Estate and Belmont, is a locale in Albemarle County, Virginia, and the site of a 19th-century plantation. It was among the first patents in Albemarle County, patented in the 1730s. Matthew Graves sold a 2,500-acre-tract to John Harvie Sr., a friend of Peter Jefferson and a guardian of Thomas Jefferson. After his death in 1767, the property was inherited by his son John Harvie, Jr. Harvie lived at Belmont for several years, but after he was appointed the Registrar of Land Grants, he moved to Richmond, Virginia and John Rogers oversaw the plantation. Rogers was known for his progressive approaches to agriculture, including methods for improving the quality of the soil after years of tobacco crops.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  3. Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (June 1982). "002-0026 Edgehill and Accompanying Rhoto". Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Historic Resources.
  4. 1 2 3 Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (June 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form and Accompanying photo: Edge Hill". Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Historic Resources.
  5. Lester, Malcolm (February 2000). "Randolph, Thomas Mann (1768-1828), member of Congress and governor of Virginia". American National Biography. American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.0300411 . Retrieved 2021-05-08.