History
In 1760, Abraham Martin (1716–1771) patented 4,060 acres of land (including 989 acres already patented in 1746) on Horsepen Creek in what was then Lunenburg County. In 1770, Martin conveyed 899 acres of this land to William Jameson (1745–1785), a native of Glasgow, Scotland. Jameson settled the property with his wife Anne Read, the daughter of Clement Read and Mary Hill of Bushy Forest, the wealthiest and most powerful family in the region. Jameson's alliance with a leading family in the county was an advantageous one, for he secured a number of important commissions in spite of his foreign birth, including County Justice (1772 and 1784), Vestryman of Cornwall Parish (1778), Escheator (1778), Militia Lieutenant (1778), and Militia Captain (1779). It was Jameson who named theSignificance
Annefield's significance is derived from the fact that it is a relatively rare example of the well-developed Italianate architectural style in Charlotte County, Virginia. Elements of Jacob W. Holt's interpretation of the Italianate style within Annefield include a stereotypical Holt front entryway featuring double doors with arched panels, surrounded by arched sidelights, and a round-ended transom flanked by a pair of round “pinwheel” windows. Other features include a fenestration pattern displaying pairs of arched windows matching those found in the entryway, a deep, bracketed cornice, and a mantel design that seems to be unique to Holt: a progressively-styled Italianate mantel from William H. Ranlett's ''The Architect'' (Volume I, plate 52) with the insertion of a Greek Revival-style frieze roll just above the firebox opening. Another factor contributing to the significance of Annefield is the house's attribution toPlantation Complex
The Main House, c. 1858. Sited on the highest point of the property, the house was built in three stages. The oldest part of the house dates from 1858 and consists of a large main block (measuring approximately 50 feet by 20 feet) with a center hall flanking a parlor and a bedroom; a hallway and two bedrooms are located upstairs. A two-story addition in the rear encompasses a single-story section that is original to the house. This section was subordinate to the main block, both in style and scale. Construction of interior doorways and chimneys suggests that this section was built at the same time as the main block. If not, it was certainly in place by 1882, when a foreclosure sale notice described the dwelling as containing six rooms (two rooms on each floor in the main block, with two additional rooms in the one-story rear section). This rear section was enlarged to two stories in the early 21st century. Two interior brick chimneys rise up from the dwelling's hipped roof, which is covered with tin shingles. The roof is accented by a deep, bracketed cornice that is typical of Italianate style buildings of the period. The entire house is covered by smooth weatherboard siding, and the corners of the main block of the building are highlighted by fluted Doric pilasters. A foundation of brick laid in the Flemish bond pattern supports the oldest sections of the house (this is relatively new brickwork. Evidence in the cellar indicates that the bond may have originally been five to six course common bond). A parged concrete masonry unit foundation supports a late nineteenth or early twentieth century addition to the rear. A full-length, one-story portico graces the front façade. The portico was completed in 2009, and its design is inspired by the one found on the front façade of Cherry Hill (Warren County, North Carolina), which was built by John A. Waddell, a Jacob W. Holt-school builder. The portico features a bracketed cornice, a balustrade which creates a balcony accessible from double doors in the central bay of the second floor, and is supported by six sets of square, fluted columns. The house's main entryway is located in the central bay of the front façade, and consists of a pair of paneled doors surrounded by unique sidelights and a transom punctuated by circular “pinwheel” windows in each corner. This entryway is identical to that of Vine Hill (Franklin County, North Carolina), which was built by Jacob W. Holt in 1856. The main block of the villa is set apart by the use of double-arched windows set within a square casing, a motif consistent throughout the main block of house, taking the form of a simple Roman arch in the front door and the interior doors of the principal rooms. The form of the front windows is identical to that of Engleside (Warrenton, North Carolina) and Pool Rock (Vance County, North Carolina), both of which are attributed to Jacob W. Holt. Holt likely received his inspiration from Ranlett's “Italian Villa Design #31.” A central hall with staircase on the first floor is flanked by two rooms on each side. Each room opens into the stair hall, and the rooms on each side of the hall connect via a doorway as well. To the rear of the house, a one-story porch that was added in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century has been enclosed, and now contains a kitchen, bathroom and pantry. The house as originally built had four main rooms on the first floor, and two rooms on the second floor. The house as currently configured has five main rooms on the first floor and three on the second floor. The principal rooms are heated by interior chimneys located between the front and rear rooms. Interior details continue the motifs of the exterior. The doors and windows on the first floor have massive casings with large bases. The mantels of the two front rooms combine Greek Revival proportions and a fluted frieze roll with Italianate brackets. These two mantels are identical to an example from Engleside (the John White House) in Warrenton, North Carolina. Mantels in the rear rooms and on the second floor are much simpler that those found in the two (front) primary chambers. Quarter/Kitchen House, c. 1858. The quarter/kitchen house lies to the rear (west) of the house and measures approximately 34 by 16 feet. The hipped roof is covered by pre-formed, ribbed tin panels which are not original to the building, and the exterior of the quarter is clad in wooden weatherboard siding. A simple box cornice highlights the transition between the roof and the vertical walls. The front façade of the building is divided into four bays. The central two bays are occupied by window openings (the sash themselves are missing), and the outer two bays are occupied by doorways. This fenestration pattern is repeated on the west (rear) façade, and a window opening is located on each end of the building as well. The structure of the building consists of mortise-and-tenon timber-frame construction, with studs spaced roughly every twenty four inches. Floor joists are made of logs that have been worked flat on the top face. The wall finish on the interior consists of butt-joined horizontal boards that have been limewashed. Evidence in the wall and roof structure suggests that the interior space was once divided into two rooms, with a central chimney serving both spaces. In addition to the kitchen, this building probably contained living space for the cook and her family. The 1860 Census Slave Schedule indicates that Goode owned 10 slave houses or quarters, and this may have been one of them. The location of the others is unknown. Smokehouse, c. 1858. Measuring approximately 14 by 14 feet, the smokehouse is clad in weatherboard and covered by a pyramidical roof of standing seam, galvanized metal (a later replacement). The board-and-batten entry door is located on the east façade. The interior exhibits the building's timber-frame construction, and a wooden floor is broken in the center by a sunken firepit. Office, Early 20th Century. To the west of the smokehouse lies a small, 12 foot by 10 foot building that may have served as an office for a farm manager or similar individual. The building may date to the period of the main house, but construction features such as wire nails, diagonal sheathing and a roof that is not consistent with the other Holt-designed buildings (i.e., gabled instead of hipped), suggests that the building was constructed in the beginning of the twentieth century. Like the other outbuildings in the cluster, the building's roof consists of pre-formed, galvanized metal. The exterior is clad in unpainted weatherboards. A board and batten door provides access on the north façade, and the remnants of a four-over-four sash window provided light on the south façade. A small, square, brick chimney is located in the interior of the southwestern corner of the building's sole room, and contains a stovepipe hole. Tobacco Barns, 19th Century. Located approximately 700 feet north of the main house is a pair of tobacco barns. These buildings each measure approximately 16 by 16 feet, are constructed of squared, lap-notched, rough-hewn logs, and are covered with galvanized metal roofs. The barns rest on dry-laid stone foundations, and remnants of vertical board-and-batten siding remain on both. The interiors of both barns exhibit evidence of the smoke-curing process, including numerous rounded poles running from end to end to facilitate hanging tobacco. Dairy Barn, 1954. West of the main house's complex of domestic outbuildings lies a large dairy barn that is constructed of concrete masonry units. The main block of the barn is one and a half stories in height, and is covered by a gambrel roof of pre-formed galvanized metal sheets. The upper story contains a storage loft, and is clad in weatherboards. Attached to the southern façade of the building is a one-story wing (also of concrete masonry units) that is fenestrated by six pane steel windows. Two large concrete silos rise from the western façade of the barn. House, c. 1830. Approximately 1,100 feet southwest of Annefield is a two cell, -story frame house that probably dates from the second quarter of the 19th century. The oldest section of the house measures approximately 21 feet by 18 feet, is covered by a galvanized metal gable roof, is clad with vertical boards (covered by asphalt siding), and rests on a dry-laid stone foundation. A massive stone chimney rises from the east gable end of the house. The front façade of the building presents three bays, with an entry door in the center. This door opens into the primary chamber of the first floor, which measures approximately 17 feet by 18 feet, and was heated by a fireplace that is surrounded by a simple, Greek Revival-inspired mantle. An enclosed, dog-leg staircase leads to the garret from this room. The smaller chamber measures approximately feet by 18 feet, and contains a door that leads to a shed-roofed addition, which was likely built in the early 20th century. The garret is divided into two rooms, and is lit by two casement windows on the east end (flanking the chimney) and one (off-center) casement window on the west end. The entire interior of the building is plastered or shows evidence of plastering, and riven lath can be seen in many sections of the house. Small, open porches are located on the front (west) façade and the rear (southeast) façade. Based on the presence of plastered walls (even in the garret), it is unlikely that this dwelling was constructed for use by slaves, and may have been occupied by a member of the Moseley family or a plantation manager. Slave Cemetery, 19th century. According to local tradition, a slave cemetery is located on the grounds of Annefield, approximately 1,700 feet northeast of the main house, near Horsepen Creek (UTM 17S 0711948 4089808). This area is covered by Periwinkle (''Vinca minor''), which is commonly used as a groundcover planting in Virginia cemeteries. A number of relatively young eastern black walnut (''Juglans nigra'') trees now shade the site. Evidence of at least two graves can be found via the presence of standing fieldstones and slight depressions in the earth. However, a methodical survey of the site is likely to yield evidence of additional graves. Previous owners of the property are known to have owned slaves, Hillery Goode owned more than forty slaves in 1860, and at least four of Mr. Goode's slaves were over sixty years of age at that time.Bibliography
Ailsworth, Timothy S., ed. ''Charlotte County, Rich Indeed''. Charlotte Court House, Virginia: Charlotte County Board of Supervisors. 1979. Bishir, Catherine W. “Jacob W. Holt: An American Builder”. ''Winterthur Portfolio'', Vol. 16, No. 1 (Spring, 1981). Bishir, Catherine W. ''Southern Built: American Architecture, Regional Practice''. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia Press. 2006. Blanton, Alison S., Mary A. Zirkle, and Stacy L. Marshall. ''Historic Architectural Survey of Charlotte County, Virginia''. Roanoke, Virginia: Hill Studio, P.C. 1998. Carrington, J. Cullen. ''Charlotte County, Virginia: Historical, Statistical, and Present Attractions''. Richmond, Virginia: The Hermitage Press, Inc. 1907. Charlotte County Land Records, Charlotte County Clerk of Court, Charlotte Court House, Virginia Downing, Andrew Jackson. ''Victorian Cottage Residences''. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1981. Farmer, Charles J. ''In the Absence of Towns: Settlement and Country Trade in Southside Virginia, 1730–1800''. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1993. Ginther, Herman. ''Captain Staunton’s River''. Richmond, Virginia: The Dietz Press, Inc. 1968, 1999. United States Census, Population Schedule, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 United States Census, Slave Schedule, 1860 United States Census, Agriculture Schedule, 1860, 1880 Virginia Landmarks Commission StaffReferences
See also