Harewood | |
Location | Jefferson County, West Virginia, USA |
---|---|
Nearest city | Charles Town, West Virginia |
Coordinates | 39°18′10″N77°54′56″W / 39.30278°N 77.91556°W |
Architect | Ariss, John |
Architectural style | Georgian |
NRHP reference No. | 73001909 |
Added to NRHP | March 14, 1973 [1] |
Harewood is one of several houses in the vicinity of Charles Town, West Virginia built for members of the Washington family.
The house was designed by John Ariss for Samuel Washington in 1770, using a center-hall, single-pile plan. The two-story limestone house has a raised basement and flanking stone wings. Exterior details are simple, with only a modillioned cornice at the eaves of the shallow hipped roof. The interior is detailed in the manner of the Tidewater-region houses that Washington and Arris were familiar with. Interior detailing is extensive with Doric pilasters in the main downstairs rooms. [2]
Samuel Washington moved to Harewood from his farm on Chotank Creek in Stafford County, Virginia to Harewood, accumulating 3,800 acres (15 km2) by the time he died in 1781.
George Washington visited the house several times, and its interior features a marble fireplace reportedly given to George Washington by the Marquis de Lafayette. [3]
After Samuel Washington's death, it was inherited by his son George Steptoe Washington, whose sister-in-law Dolley Payne Todd married future President James Madison in the house on September 15, 1794. [4] [5] Another of Samuel's sons, Thornton Washington, built Cedar Lawn nearby. During the American Civil War, James Taylor (who accompanied Union troops in the area) sketched it and noted the luxury of its interior compared with the relatively plain late Georgian style exterior. [3] During the 1930s, photographs of the interior were taken by the Historic American Buildings Survey. [6]
The oldest surviving Washington family house in Jefferson County also is the only one still owned by members of the extended Washington family. [7] Modern archeological excavations of a graveyard at Harewood noted that some remains were moved to the graveyard of Zion Episcopal Church in Charles Town in 1882, and have identified the remains of Lucy Payne (wife of George Steptoe Washington) and two of Samuel Washington's grandsons. [8]
Dolley Todd Madison was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of both political parties, essentially spearheading the concept of bipartisan cooperation. Previously, founders such as Thomas Jefferson would only meet with members of one party at a time, and politics could often be a violent affair resulting in physical altercations and even duels. Madison helped to create the idea that members of each party could amicably socialize, network, and negotiate with each other without violence. By innovating political institutions as the wife of James Madison, Dolley Madison did much to define the role of the President's spouse, known only much later by the title First Lady—a function she had sometimes performed earlier for the widowed Thomas Jefferson.
Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 6,534 at the 2020 census. The city is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. It is part of the northwestern fringes of the Washington metropolitan area.
James Madison's Montpelier, located in Orange County, Virginia, was the plantation house of the Madison family, including Founding Father and fourth president of the United States James Madison and his wife, Dolley. The 2,650-acre (1,070 ha) property is open seven days a week.
West Virginia Route 51 is a state highway that runs west to east from Berkeley County to Jefferson County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. The western terminus is at WV 45 northwest of Gerrardstown. The eastern terminus is at an interchange with U.S. Route 340 and WV 9 east of downtown Charles Town. US 340 continues to the east on the same roadway as WV 51.
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.
Lawrence Augustine Washington was a nephew of United States President George Washington and son of Samuel Washington and his fourth wife, Anne Steptoe.
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.
Richard Cutts was an American merchant and politician. A Democratic-Republican, he was most notable for his service as Second Comptroller of the United States Treasury from 1817 to 1829 and a United States representative from Massachusetts from 1801 to 1813.
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.
Beverley, also known as Bullskin, is a farm near Charles Town, West Virginia that has been a working agricultural unit since 1750. The narrow lane that leads from U.S. Route 340 to the Beverley complex was, in the 18th and 19th centuries a toll road. The main house was built about 1800 by Beverley Whiting on the site of a c. 1760 stone house. The house is Georgian influenced Federal style, with a later Greek Revival portico. A number of outbuildings dating to the original 1760 house accompany the main house.
Morgan's Grove is a rural historic district near Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The area is noted for its abundant springs. Several historic houses and farms are in the district, including:
Barleywood is a farm in Jefferson County, West Virginia, on land once owned by Samuel Washington, brother of George Washington. The farm is close to Samuel's manor house, Harewood, from which the Barleywood property was subdivided in 1841. The Barleywood house was built in 1842, as well as several outbuildings which survive. The house sat vacant from the 1960s to the late 2010s and during that time it suffered from vandalism. It is now a private residence.
The Cutts–Madison House is an American colonial-style historic home, now used for offices located at 1520 H Street NW in Washington, D.C. The house is best known for being the residence of former First Lady Dolley Madison, who lived there from November 1837 until her death in July 1849.
George Steptoe Washington was a Virginia planter and militia officer who died at the age of 37 of tuberculosis.
John Thornton Augustine Washington was a prominent Virginia farmer who served a term in the Virginia House of Delegates. Washington was a grandnephew of George Washington, first President of the United States.
Lawrence Berry Washington was an American lawyer, military officer, author, Forty-niner, border ruffian, and a member of the Washington family. Washington was born on his family's Cedar Lawn plantation near Charles Town, Virginia and was the eldest of 13 children. He practiced law, then served as a second lieutenant in the Virginia Volunteers during the Mexican–American War. During his service in the war, Washington reportedly wore the sword of his great-granduncle George Washington.
Eugenia Scholay Washington was an American historian, civil servant, and a founder of the lineage societies, Daughters of the American Revolution and Daughters of the Founders and Patriots of America.
Morgan's Grove Park is located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States, and shares a history dating back to the 18th century and Morgan's Grove, from which the historic park got its name.