Sycamore Dale | |
Location | South Branch River Road (County Route 8), Romney, West Virginia |
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Coordinates | 39°20′15″N78°46′24″W / 39.33750°N 78.77333°W |
Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
Built | 1836–1839 |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 80004021 [1] |
Added to NRHP | December 2, 1980 |
Sycamore Dale (also known as the Gibson-Wirgman-Williams House) is a 19th-century Greek Revival plantation house overlooking the South Branch Potomac River southwest of Romney, West Virginia. [2] Sycamore Dale is one of several historic estates along South Branch River Road (County Route 8). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1980. [1]
Sycamore Dale was constructed for David Gibson between 1836 and 1839 with the use of slave labor. [2] The slaves involved with Sycamore Dale's construction numbered over 100. [2]
Due to its location adjacent to the Romney Covered Bridge which carried the Northwestern Turnpike across the South Branch Potomac River, Sycamore Dale's vicinity was a strategic location for forces attempting to take Romney during the American Civil War. When Union Army forces first moved on Romney on June 11, 1861, there was resistance by Confederate States Army forces to their crossing of the covered bridge. The resistance consisted of Confederate sharpshooters who had commandeered Sycamore Dale and were using it as a "sharpshooter's nest." [2] The Union forces, commanded by General Lew Wallace (later Governor of New Mexico Territory, United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and author of best-seller historical fiction novels such as Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ ), advanced across the bridge and succeeded in dislodging the Confederates. [2] Following the skirmish, General Wallace gave orders for Sycamore Dale to be burnt before proceeding up Town Hill into Romney. [2] Upon his return later in the day, General Wallace found the house unscathed and, after heated inquiry, found that his captain had been dissuaded from the act of arson by the owner, David Gibson. [2] After listening to Gibson's plea himself, General Wallace relented and, it is said, briefly used the house as his headquarters. [2] General Wallace wrote part of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ during his stay at Sycamore Dale.
Another significant event of the American Civil War to occur at Sycamore Dale was the surrender of the McNeill's Rangers. McNeill's Rangers was an independent irregular Confederate military company commissioned under the Partisan Ranger Act by the Congress of the Confederate States on April 12, 1862. After the Act's repeal on February 17, 1864, McNeill's Rangers was one of two partisan companies allowed to continue operation, the other being Mosby's Raiders. The Rangers numbered no more than 60 to 70. [2] Captain McNeill and his Rangers surrendered to Union Army forces on April 12, 1865, on Sycamore Dale's front lawn. [2] Other sources [3] [4] cite that while Romney was last held by Confederate Army forces on April 15, local tradition states that McNeill's Rangers surrendered at Sycamore Dale on May 8. [3] [4] Led by Jesse McNeill, the 36 Rangers threw their weapons into a pile on Sycamore Dale's lawn and then the Union officers reluctantly agreed to release the Rangers. [4] This surrender was one of the final actions of the American Civil War in West Virginia. [2]
Sycamore Dale's brickwork is laid in a Flemish bond arrangement. The bricks used in its construction were fired in the home's vicinity. [2] Its lumber was also milled nearby. [2] Sycamore Dale is graced with two end chimneys and a medium gable roof of tin. The front of the house is symmetrically divided into five bays centered on a large two-story, one bay wide portico. This two-story portico is supported by eight Tuscan columns and is surmounted on the second level with a Greek Revival style pediment with plain entablature. Both the first and second levels of its portico have Greek Revival entrance doors, both of which are flanked by triple-paned sidelights and surmounted by multi-paned transoms. [2] There is a wrought iron balustrade on both levels of the portico, and stone steps leading to the first level of the portico. The five bay front elevation, which is 52 feet in width, has six over six sash windows, one on each level of each bay, surmounted by paneled wood lintels and flanked by white wooden shutters. [2] The length of the home's ell is 87 feet. [2] A one-story porch measuring 65 feet runs along the outer ell. [2] A two-story, enclosed porch at the home's rear was an early 20th-century addition and has been removed by the present owners. There were once extensive slave quarters on the grounds of Sycamore Dale's estate which are no longer extant. [2]
Sycamore Dale's original hand-carved interior woodwork has been preserved. [2] Many of the home's doors are also hand-carved. [2] As a testament to Sycamore Dale's role in the American Civil War, several bullet holes remain in the home's woodwork. The two end chimneys service Sycamore Dale's four large fireplaces. The home is also filled with period furnishings, most of which are Antebellum or Victorian in origin. [2]
The Battle of Moorefield was a cavalry battle in the American Civil War, which took place on August 7, 1864. The fighting occurred along the South Branch of the Potomac River, north of Moorefield, West Virginia, in Hardy County. The National Park Service groups this battle with Early's Washington Raid and operations against the B&O Railroad, and it was the last major battle in the region before General Philip Sheridan took command of Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley. This Union triumph was the third of three major victories for Brigadier General William W. Averell, who performed best when operating on his own.
The Sloan–Parker House, also known as the Stone House, Parker Family Residence, or Richard Sloan House, is a late-18th-century stone residence near Junction, Hampshire County, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It was built on land vacated by the Shawnee after the Native American nation had been violently forced to move west to Kansas following their defeat at the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1975, becoming Hampshire County's first property to be listed on the register. The Sloan–Parker House has been in the Parker family since 1854. The house and its adjacent farm are located along the Northwestern Turnpike in the rural Mill Creek valley.
The town of Romney, Virginia, traded hands between the Union Army and Confederate States Army no fewer than 10 times during the American Civil War, assuming the occupying force spent at least one night in the town. The story of the small town is emblematic of the many military campaigns that swept through western Virginia and, later, the new state of West Virginia.
Indian Mound Cemetery is a cemetery located along the Northwestern Turnpike on a promontory of the "Yellow Banks" overlooking the South Branch Potomac River and Mill Creek Mountain in Romney, West Virginia, United States. The cemetery is centered on a Hopewellian mound, known as the Romney Indian Mound. Indian Mound Cemetery is also the site of Fort Pearsall, the Confederate Memorial, Parsons Bell Tower, and reinterments from Romney's Old Presbyterian Cemetery. The cemetery is currently owned and maintained by the Indian Mound Cemetery Association, Inc.
The Fort Mill Ridge Civil War Trenches are battle trenches in West Virginia that were originally dug between 1861 and 1862 to be later used in 1863 for the civil war. These trenches lined with chestnut logs by the Confederate artillery during the American Civil War to defend the approaches to Romney on the Northwestern Turnpike and the South Branch Potomac River. The trenches were then refurbished between March and June 1863 by the 54th Pennsylvania Infantry and the 1st West Virginia Infantry. When Colonel Jacob M. Campbell garrisoned Union forces at Romney, camps were set up at nearby at Mechanicsburg Gap. The Confederates might have created these trenches but all throughout the war the Union had control of these trenches.
McNeill's Rangers was an independent Confederate military force commissioned under the Partisan Ranger Act (1862) by the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War. The 210 man unit was formed from Company E of the 18th Virginia Cavalry and the First Virginia Partisan Rangers. After the repeal of the Act on February 17, 1864, McNeill's Rangers was one of two partisan forces allowed to continue operation, the other being 43rd Battalion Virginia Cavalry. Both of these guerrilla forces operated in the western counties of Virginia and West Virginia. The Rangers were known to exercise military discipline when conducting raids. However, many Union generals considered Captain John Hanson McNeill (1815–1864) and his men to be "bushwhackers," not entitled to protection when captured, as was the case with other prisoners of war.
The Hampshire County Courthouse is a Neoclassical edifice in the center of downtown Romney, county seat of Hampshire County, West Virginia. The present building was constructed in 1922 to replace the previous 1833 Neoclassical courthouse that had been destroyed by fire in 1921. The original bell from the 1833 courthouse hangs in the domed bell tower.
Literary Hall is a mid-19th-century brick library, building and museum located in Romney, a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the intersection of North High Street and West Main Street. Literary Hall was constructed between 1869 and 1870 by the Romney Literary Society.
Ridgedale is a 19th-century Greek Revival plantation house and farm on a plateau overlooking the South Branch Potomac River north of Romney, West Virginia, United States. The populated area adjacent to Washington Bottom Farm is known as Ridgedale. The farm is connected to West Virginia Route 28 via Washington Bottom Road.
Wappocomo is a late 18th-century Georgian mansion and farm overlooking the South Branch Potomac River north of Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA. It is located along Cumberland Road and the South Branch Valley Railroad.
The 18th Virginia Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought with the Army of Northern Virginia, in southwest Virginia, and in the Shenandoah Valley.
John Hanson "Hanse" McNeill was a Confederate soldier who served as a captain in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He led McNeill's Rangers, an independent irregular Confederate military company commissioned under the Partisan Ranger Act.
Alexander W. Monroe was a prominent American lawyer, politician, and military officer in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia. Monroe served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates and West Virginia House of Delegates representing Hampshire County. He was the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates during the 1875–1877 legislative session. Monroe also represented Hampshire County in the West Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1872.
John Baker White was a 19th-century American military officer, lawyer, court clerk, and civil servant in the U.S. state of Virginia.
Christian Streit White was an American military officer, lawyer, court clerk, pisciculturist, and politician in the U.S. states of Virginia and West Virginia.
Romney Classical Institute was a 19th-century coeducational collegiate preparatory school in Romney, Virginia, United States, between 1846 and shortly after 1866. Romney had previously been served by Romney Academy, but by 1831 the school had outgrown its facilities. The Virginia General Assembly permitted the Romney Literary Society to raise funds for a new school through a lottery. On December 12, 1846, the assembly established the school and empowered the society with its operation.
Isaac Parsons was an American slave owner, politician, and militia officer in the U.S. state of Virginia. Parsons served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Hampshire County from 1789 until his death in 1796. Following an act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1789, Parsons was appointed to serve as a trustee for the town of Romney. In 1790, Parsons began serving as a justice for Hampshire County. He served as a captain in command of a company in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War and continued to serve as a captain in the Hampshire County militia following the war. Parsons operated a public ferry across the South Branch Potomac River, and later died from drowning in the river in 1796. Parsons was the grandfather of Isaac Parsons (1814–1862), who also represented Hampshire County in the Virginia House of Delegates and served as an officer in the Confederate States Army.
Isaac Parsons was an American planter, politician, and military officer in the U.S. state of Virginia. Parsons served as a Justice of the Peace of Hampshire County's District 3 from 1852 to 1853. He later served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Hampshire County from 1854 until 1857. Parsons was the grandson of Virginia House Delegate Isaac Parsons (1752–1796), the great-grandson of Colonial Virginia military officer William Foreman, and the grandfather of First Lady of West Virginia, Edna Brady Cornwell (1868–1958).
The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge, formerly known as South Branch Bridge or Romney Bridge, is a historic Whipple truss bridge in Capon Lake, West Virginia. It is located off Carpers Pike and crosses the Cacapon River. The bridge formerly carried Capon Springs Road over the river, connecting Capon Springs and Capon Lake.
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