"Marrowbone" is a

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although ...

, that may have been established in 1749. A frame house painted white, Marrowbone

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 ...

was known widely for its hanging gardens and colonial boxwoods and cedars.

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

's gardeners scoured the countryside for authentic boxwoods or

Buxus sempervirens ''Buxus sempervirens'', the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Buxus'', native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco ...

for

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...

, and used some of the shrubs and cedars from Marrowbone for the restoration.

Robert Hairston Robert Hairston (1717August 3, 1791) was an 18th-century gentleman planter, politician, and military officer in the Virginia Colony. He was an elected representative in both the House of Burgesses and the Virginia House of Delegates. Family li ...

established the first Hairston home in Henry county, "Marrowbone", during the period of 1775-1776. Marrowbone was passed down to his son

George Hairston George Hairston (September 20, 1750 to March 5, 1825) was a noted planter and politician in Virginia. He was a Colonel in the American Revolutionary War and a Brigadier General in the War of 1812. Family life George Hairston was the son of Robert H ...

, and remained in the family for the next five generations, until 1881. "Following the calamities of the War Between the States, this splendid property passed out of the hands of the former owners and has been allowed to deteriorate beyond recognition." Other accounts say that Marrowbone plantation was constructed in 1759, in

Pittsylvania County, Virginia Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,501. Chatham is the county seat. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical Ar ...

, which later became part of

Henry County, Virginia Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,948. The county seat is usually identified as Martinsville; however, the administration building (where county offices are located an ...

. A third account claims the house was built in 1749.Wiencek, Henry. The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. Page 45.

References

{{coord missing, Virginia Plantation houses in Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Houses in Henry County, Virginia