Jerdone Castle is a
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
located in
Bumpass,
Louisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,596. The county seat is Louisa.
History
Prior to colonial settlement, the area comprising Louisa County was occupied by severa ...
originally established circa 1742. Jerdone Castle is a Virginia Historic Landmark and registered on the
U.S. National Register of Historical Places. Originally , much of the plantation's original land is submerged under
Lake Anna
Lake Anna is one of the largest freshwater inland reservoirs in Virginia, covering an area of , and located south of Washington, D.C., in Louisa and Spotsylvania counties (and partially in Orange County at the northern tip). The lake is easily ...
. The estate currently contains .
History
The oldest section of Jerdone Castle was built in 1742 by Francis Jerdone who came to Virginia from
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
in 1740, as discussed below. In addition to expanding his original landholdings and building a residence, Jerdone operated stores,
mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
*
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Textile mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
s, and a
forge
A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...
. The later main section of the house was built in 1853 for Francis Jerdone's descendant Sarah Jerdone Coleman and her husband, Gen.
Clayton G. Coleman (1807-1872). Its Italianate bracketed cornice and cupola emphasize its generous size.
The Louisa County, Virginia, Historical Society documents that on June 9, 1791, President
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
was an overnight visitor at Jerdone Castle. Washington's wife
Martha
Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to ...
was a close friend of Francis Jerdone's wife Sarah. Papers from the Jerdone family, including life at and the maintenance of Jerdone Castle, can be found in the
Special Collections Research Center at the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
.
In 1879 the estate was purchased by Frank T. Glasgow of Richmond, father of the author
Ellen Glasgow
Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow (April 22, 1873 – November 21, 1945) was an American novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1942 for her novel ''In This Our Life''. She published 20 novels, as well as short stories, to critical ac ...
. Ellen Glasgow spent her childhood summers at Jerdone Castle, which she later said greatly influenced her writing. In the fourth chapter of ''
The Woman Within'', entitled "I Become a Writer," Miss Glasgow describes lying in the meadow at Jerdone Castle and realizing that writing was to be her future (VLR 280).
[ an]
''Accompanying photo''
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Biographical note
Francis Jerdone was born in Jedburgh
Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in su ...
in the Shire of Tivotdale, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
on January 30, 1721. He was the son of John Jerdone, a magistrate and treasurer of the town. At the age of nineteen, he immigrated to Virginia from Scotland and settled in Hanover County, Yorktown; and later in Louisa County. He made his living as a merchant (factor), running a mercantile business with George Pottie until his death in 1771.
He owned plantations in Hanover, York, Louisa and Albemarle Counties in Virginia. His Albemarle plantation is now the old part of the Clubhouse at Farmington Country Club. His wife, Sarah (Macon) Jerdone, (1731–1818) was born in Virginia. Their sons included Francis Jerdone II, 1756–1841; John Jerdone, 1764–1786; and William, 1769–1772. Their daughters included Mary, b. 1754;[Mary Jerdone, was born on January 14, 1754 at ]New Kent County, Virginia
New Kent County is a county in the eastern part the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 22,945. Its county seat is New Kent.
New Kent County is included in the Greater Richmond Region.
History
Ne ...
. She married as her first husband, in 1771, George Pottie, the business partner of her father. Mary helped run this business after her father's death in 1771. They had three children; George Pottie, Isbella Pottie and Mary Pottie Honeyman. He died prior to 1785 when she married Adam Toler. He was born on November 30, 1766 in Louisa County, Virginia and died on March 20, 1813 in Chesterfield, Virginia
Chesterfield is an unincorporated community that is the county seat of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It was a census-designated place (CDP) at the 2020 census. It was not delineated as a CDP for the 2010 census. The Chesterfield ...
. He was the son of William Toler and Hannah Brockman. Adam founded the town of Tolersville, Virginia. Adam and Mary had several children including, Sarah Toler, Adam Toler, Elizabeth Toler, and William Toler. Sarah, 1757–1793; Elizabeth, 1759–1830; Isabella, 1761–1825; Anne, 1763–1794; and Martha, b. 1767. Elizabeth was the wife of Alexander Macauley, a merchant of Yorktown, Virginia.
His son, Francis Jerdone II, was a planter of Louisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,596. The county seat is Louisa.
History
Prior to colonial settlement, the area comprising Louisa County was occupied by severa ...
. He was born on February 9, 1756, in Louisa County, Virginia, and died on April 29, 1841, in Louisa County, Virginia. His wife, Mary "Polly" Byars, was born on December 2, 1771, in Louisa County, Virginia; died March 12, 1821, in Louisa County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Captain John Byars.
Francis and Mary's sons included John Jerdone, a planter of Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Spotsylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the July 2021 estimate, the population was 143,676. Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse.
History
At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that bec ...
. John was born October 11, 1800, in Louisa County, Virginia and died on December 2, 1863, in Henderson, Kentucky
Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and is the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as the ...
. This family were the absentee landowners of Providence Forge, New Kent County, Virginia
New Kent County is a county in the eastern part the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 22,945. Its county seat is New Kent.
New Kent County is included in the Greater Richmond Region.
History
Ne ...
. He married Barbara Ann Callis on November 30, 1830, in Louisa County, Virginia. Barbara Ann Callis, born February 25, 1814, in Louisa Co., Virginia; died December 9, 1890, in Henderson, Kentucky. She was the daughter of and Anne Price.
Francis Jerdone, III, b. 1802, a planter of Orange County; and William Jerdone, b. 1805, a planter of New Kent County, Virginia. Daughters of Francis Jerdone II included Sarah Jerdone Coleman and Mary Jerdone Toler.
References
External links
Finding aid for the Jerdone Family Papers
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
1742 establishments in Virginia
Georgian architecture in Virginia
Houses completed in 1742
Houses completed in 1853
Houses in Louisa County, Virginia
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Italianate architecture in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Louisa County, Virginia
Plantations in Virginia