The Morgan-Bedinger-Dandridge House — first known as Poplar Grove, then Rosebrake or Rose Brake — is part of a group of structures affiliated with the Morgan's Grove rural historic district near

Shepherdstown, West Virginia Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located in the lower Shenandoah Valley along the Potomac River. Home to Shepherd University, the town's population was 1,734 at the time of the 2010 census. History 18 ...

. The property was known as "Poplar Grove" until 1877.

History

The original building on the site was built around 1745 by settler Richard Morgan (''ca.'' 1700–1763) and became known as the "Back Building". In 1803 the house was expanded by Daniel Morgan with a two-story brick structure, known as the "Great House". Formal gardens were added at this time. In 1859 the present main portion of the house was built by Caroline Bedinger, widow of

Henry Bedinger Henry Bedinger III (February 3, 1812 – November 26, 1858) was a nineteenth-century American planter, politician, lawyer and diplomat. Born in the part of Virginia that became West Virginia not long after his death, he served two terms in th ...

. During her ownership the house was occupied by Colonel Alexander R. Boteler, a former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

who, at the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

became a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

officer. After the war, while Boteler was living at Poplar Grove, President U.S. Grant appointed Boteler to the U. S. Centennial Commission. Caroline's daughter, Danske Bedinger Dandridge, a noted poet, changed the name of the house to "Rosebrake" (sometimes spelled "Rose Brake") in 1877. A portico was added to the house in 1950, removed from a house on Long Island and shipped to West Virginia.

References

External links

* * ("Rose Break" or "Dandridge House") American Civil War sites in West Virginia Bedinger family Neoclassical architecture in West Virginia Dandridge family of Virginia Georgian architecture in West Virginia Houses completed in 1745 Houses completed in 1859 Houses in Jefferson County, West Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in West Virginia Jefferson County, West Virginia in the American Civil War National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, West Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in West Virginia Morgan family of West Virginia 1745 establishments in Virginia {{JeffersonCountyWV-NRHP-stub

History

See also

References

External links