Upper Wolfsnare, historically called Brick House Farm until 1939, is a colonial-era brick home built, probably about 1759,Probably one of Thomas Walke III's houses described as in the process of being built in his will written in 1759 (Virginia Landmarks Register * National Register of Historic Places, 1975). in

Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...

by Thomas Walke III in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

History

Thomas III was a major in the British Army. His son, Thomas Walke IV, was a member of the

Virginia Ratifying Convention The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at ...

of 1788, which voted to ratify the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

. Walke IV was one of two representatives from

Princess Anne County County of Princess Anne is a former county in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, first incorporated in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach on January 1, 1963, ceasing t ...

. The first Thomas Walke (I) settled in this area in 1662 from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

and began a trade business between the Virginia colony and Barbados, a trade which likely involved rum and slavery. He had strong connections with

William Byrd I William Byrd I (1652 – December 4, 1704) was an English-born Virginia colonist and politician. He came from Shadwell, London where his father John Bird (c. 1620–1677) was a goldsmith. His family's ancestral roots were in Cheshire. Personal li ...

. Thomas Walke III died in 1761 and left his son the then- plantation and 55 slaves. In 1783 Thomas Walke IV petitioned to reclaim slaves taken by the British during the American Revolution. Some of those slaves made their way to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Thomas IV was a Whig, whereas

was mostly Loyalists. The property stayed in the Walke family until 1822, was at the time, then changed hands many times. Currently it has about and has been owned by the Princess Anne County/Virginia Beach Historic Society since 1966. It is still lived in. The house is open for tour on a limited basis in the summer.

Location and architecture

The house acquired its name because of its location next to Wolf Snare Creek, on the south side of its upper part. The house sits in a high noise area between

Naval Air Station Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...

and Interstate 264. It was almost knocked down to make room for an access ramp for the interstate, but preservationists managed to save the property. The lane to the house at 2040 Potter's Road is lined by many trees, including

crepe myrtle ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia ...

s. The house is open to the public on a very limited basis. The view of the house is mostly obscured by trees from Potter's Road but beyond the trees it is an open, flat, marshy, area. The house is in two stories and built with

Flemish bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and Mortar (masonry), mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''Course (architecture), courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks ...

brickwork. A passage runs through the center of the house. It has raised paneling and

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

. The house was listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register (Virginia Historic Landmark) in 1974 and the US

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1975.

Footnotes

References

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External links

Upper Wolfsnare
- Princess Anne County/Virginia Beach Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Upper Wolfsnare Houses completed in 1759 Museums in Virginia Beach, Virginia Historic house museums in Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Georgian architecture in Virginia Museums established in 1986 Houses in Virginia Beach, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Beach, Virginia 1986 establishments in Virginia

History

Location and architecture

See also

Footnotes

References

External links