The Oaks | |
![]() Front of the house | |
![]() Interactive map showing The Oaks’ location | |
Location | 437 E. Beverly St., Staunton, Virginia |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°9′5″N79°3′57″W / 38.15139°N 79.06583°W |
Area | 1.4 acres |
Built | 1888 |
Built by | Maj. Jedeiah Hotchkiss |
Architect | Winslow & Wetherell |
Part of | Gospel Hill Historic District (ID85000299) |
NRHP reference No. | 79003302 [1] |
VLR No. | 132-0021 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | June 19, 1979 |
Designated CP | February 14, 1985 |
Designated VLR | December 19, 1978 [2] |
From 1868 until his death in 1899,The Oaks was the home of Major Jedediah Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss made his mark in a number of fields including mapmaking, surveying, land and coal speculation, and education. During the Civil War, Hotchkiss first served under Gen. Robert E. Lee as topographical engineer, and then joined Gen. Stonewall Jackson's staff in the same capacity, soon becoming one of the General's closest aides. His campaign maps, now housed at the Library of Congress, are considered by Civil War historians to be among the finest ever made. Hotchkiss returned to Staunton after the war ended and began speculating in land and minerals. He also lectured and wrote extensively about Virginia's geology, geography, and Civil War history. [2] [3]
There was a house on the site when Hotchkiss bought the property in 1868. A large addition to the rear of this original house appears on his 1884 map, and tax records for this period reveal a doubling of assessed building value in 1876 and another significant rise again in 1884. The chalet-style rear wing could have been built around this time. The main front was erected in 1888 on the site of the original building, perhaps incorporating part of the original foundations into its own. Assisted by the Boston architectural firm of Winslow & Wetherell, it is believed that much of the credit for the design and detailing of The Oaks goes to Hotchkiss, who supervised its construction very closely until its completion in 1890. [2] [3]
The Oaks is in private ownership.
Defying conventional style categorization, The Oaks's exterior displays many elements of the Shingle Style, although -it is·executed in brick. The somewhat restrained facade belies the richness of its interior which features seven magnificent mantelpieces executed by local craftsmen, tongue-and-groove cedar paneling and wainscoting, stained-glass windows, brass lighting fixtures, built-in cupboards, bookshelves, and a unique stand-up desk. [2] [3]
Unique in its design, The Oaks is difficult to categorize using conventional stylistic terms. The 21-room, 3-story structure exhibits some elements of the Shingle Style, although it is executed in brick, with various bonding patterns. The rather restrained facade is organized into three main bays, and the whole is crowned by a complex hip roof with carved modillion blocks in the cornice. The front of the lot is surrounded by an iron fence with an acorn motif on the posts. [2] [3]
The right bay consists of a recessed entrance with a sleeping porch above. Both these porches, as well as the sleeping porch on the top level ·of the left bay, are recessed under the roof line, a typical feature of the Shingle Style. The central bay is dominated by a 3-part, round-headed window on the second level; a stained-glass window with oak and floral motifs is fitted into the semicircular arch. Three doors, placed one above the other, originally led to small balconies. The protruding, 5-sided bay on the left features brick string courses and an open wedge pattern of rubbed bricks forming the joints between each side. Both side elevations have protruding bays with stained-glass panels in the windows on the second level. [2] [3] The rear portion of the house is a 3-story, brick chalet-style structure. The gable roof has extremely wide eaves which extend approximately 4 feet from the walls. Unusually large triangular wooden brackets with chamfered edges support the rafters which have carved ends. There are two small wooden balconies off the top-story windows on the north and south sides of this wing. [2] [3] There are also two outbuildings on the property. One is a 2-bay carriage house with segmental-arched openings which have been made rectangular with large concrete lintels; a loft is located under the shed roof. The other outbuilding appears to have been built in two stages and is now connected to the main house by a raised walkway. Although its original use is not known, part of it at one time did house Hotchkiss's gravity-flow water system. [2] [3]
The main hall is located on the second level of the central bay. This huge room has an open staircase of oak, pine and mahogany with paneled wainscoting and turned balusters; there is a bench built along the staircase wall. Nine-panel doors lead into the adjoining music room and library. The library is located in the protruding left bay and features Hotchkiss's unusual stand-up desk, a built-in bookcase covering an entire wall and a nicely paneled mantelpiece with slender, turned colonettes in the overmantel and small display shelves flanking the fireplace opening. The music room's woodwork is all painted an ivory color. This was originally the parlor and is located in the right bay behind the entrance porch. [2] [3] On the first level, the largest room is the original dining room. The unusual built-in cupboard has paneled and glass doors, mirrors and spiral colonettes. Across the hall from the dining room is the old breakfast room which contains the door to Hotchkiss's enormous walk-in safe located under the entrance porch (it was here that he housed all his now highly- valued map collection). [2] [3] The third level contains the bedrooms which open onto a huge central hall. It is less ornate than the main living level, but there are two mantelpieces of note. [2] [3]
The older rear wing of The Oaks connects to the front section in all three levels. In the basement of the wing is a large fireplace opening, which indicates that this room was probably the original kitchen. The second level of the wing now contains a small kitchen behind an additional dining room. In this room is a very simple mantelpiece which consists of pilasters supporting an undecorated frieze and mantel shelf. The original staircase of the wing remains in a hall between this dining room and the newer front addition. The third level of the wing contains an additional bedroom and bath. The flooring of the back wing is random-width pine, and all of the woodwork and molding is much simpler than that in the 1888 front section of The Oaks. [2] [3]
The Edward R. Hills House, also known as the Hills–DeCaro House, is a residence located at 313 Forest Avenue in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois. It is most notable for a 1906 remodel by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in his signature Prairie style. The Hills–DeCaro House represents the melding of two distinct phases in Wright's career; it contains many elements of both the Prairie style and the designs with which Wright experimented throughout the 1890s. The house is listed as a contributing property to a federal historic district on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is a local Oak Park Landmark.
Kenworthy Hall, also known as the Carlisle-Martin House, Carlisle Hall and Edward Kenworthy Carlisle House, is a plantation house located on the north side of Alabama Highway 14, two miles west of the Marion courthouse square. It was built from 1858 to 1860 and is one of the best preserved examples of Richard Upjohn's distinctive asymmetrical Italian villa style. It is the only surviving residential example of Upjohn's Italian villa style that was especially designed to suit the Southern climate and the plantation lifestyle. It has a massive four-story tower, windows of variable size and shape with brownstone trim, and a distinctly Southern division of family and public spaces. The building was designed and constructed for Edward Kenworthy Carlisle as his primary family residence and the centerpiece of his 440-acre (1.8 km2) estate. It, along with some of its surrounding ancillary structures, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2004. The house and a purported ghost are featured as a short story in Kathryn Tucker Windham's 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey.
The Thomas R. McGuire House, located at 114 Rice Street in the Capitol View Historic District of Little Rock, Arkansas, is a unique interpretation of the Colonial Revival style of architecture. Built by Thomas R. McGuire, a master machinist with the Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, it is the finest example of the architectural style in the turn-of-the-century neighborhood. It is rendered from hand-crafted or locally manufactured materials and serves as a triumph in concrete block construction. Significant for both its architecture and engineering, the property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 1991.
The Mrs. A. W. Gridley House is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home in Batavia, Illinois.
The Boice House is located on Fair Street in Kingston, New York, United States. It was first built around 1850 in the Greek Revival architectural style.
The John Shelp Cobblestone House, also known as the Shelp–Beamer House, is located on West Shelby Road in West Shelby, New York, United States, just east of the Niagara–Orleans county line. It is an 1830s cobblestone house in the Greek Revival architectural style.
The James and Mary Forsyth House is located on Albany Avenue near uptown Kingston, New York, United States. It is a brick Italian villa-style house designed by Richard Upjohn in the mid-19th century. When it was finished it was celebrated locally for its lavish decor. James Forsyth, as well as another later resident, left the house after being accused of financial wrongdoing. It has been modified slightly since its original construction with trim in the Colonial Revival style.
The Harriet Phillips Bungalow is located on NY 23B on the western edge of Claverack, New York, United States. It is a stucco-sided frame building dating from the 1920s.
The Harmon Miller House, also known as Brookbound, is located on NY 23/9H on the south edge of Claverack, New York, United States. It is a wooden house on a medium-sized farm built in the 1870s.
The Oscar Blomeen House is a historic house located in Auburn, Washington. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Hearthstone Castle in Danbury, Connecticut, was built between 1895 and 1899. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It has also been known as Parks' Castle and as The Castle. The property includes four contributing buildings and three other contributing structures. Today, the castle is owned by the City of Danbury and is located in Tarrywile Park. Hearthstone Castle is slated to be renovated into an observation deck.
The Newcomb–Brown Estate is located at the junction of the US 44 highway and Brown Road in Pleasant Valley, New York, United States. It is a brick structure built in the 18th century just before the Revolution and modified slightly by later owners but generally intact. Its basic Georgian style shows some influences of the early Dutch settlers of the region.
Hiddenhurst is the former estate of businessman Thomas Hidden, on Sheffield Hill Road in the Town of North East, New York, United States, south of the village of Millerton. It is an elaborate frame house built at the beginning of the 20th century in the neo-Georgian architectural style.
The Oliver Barrett House is located on Reagan Road in the Town of North East, New York, United States, south of the village of Millerton. It is a frame farmhouse built in the mid-19th century, possibly on the site or with materials from another, older house. In the early 20th century it underwent substantial renovations, particularly of its interior. Later in the century it was subdivided into rental units, a conversion reversed by more recent owners.
The H.R. Stevens House is located on Congers Road in the New City section of the Town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. It is a stone house dating to the late 18th century. In the early 19th century, it was expanded with some wood frame upper stories added later. The interior was also renovated over the course of the century.
The Walter Merchant House, on Washington Avenue in Albany, New York, United States, is a brick-and-stone townhouse in the Italianate architectural style, with some Renaissance Revival elements. Built in the mid-19th century, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
The Isaac Young House is an historic wood frame house on Pinesbridge Road in New Castle, New York, United States. It was built about 1872 in the Second Empire style. Its owner, Isaac Young, was a descendant of early settlers in the area. He chose the Second Empire style, more commonly found in cities and villages than on farms, possibly as a way of demonstrating his affluence. The present structure appears to incorporate parts of a vernacular late 18th-century farmhouse, leaving several anomalies in the current house as a result. The house's position atop a low hill would have, in its time, given it a commanding view of the region, including the Hudson River and New York City's skyline.
The Jonesborough Historic District is a historic district in Jonesborough, Tennessee, that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Jonesboro Historic District in 1969.
The James Hickey House is a house in the Eastmoreland neighborhood of southeast Portland, Oregon. The Tudor Revival style house was finished in 1925 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It was built by the architectural firm Lawrence & Holford and was one of architect Ellis Lawrence's designs for a building contractor named James Hickey. The house was built with the intention of being a model home in the Eastmoreland neighborhood.
Jackson Park Town Site Addition Brick Row is a group of three historic houses and two frame garages located on the west side of the 300 block of South Third Street in Lander, Wyoming. Two of the homes were built in 1917, and the third in 1919. The properties were added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 27, 2003.