Wirtland is a historic house in Westmoreland County,

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, near the community of Oak Grove. Built in 1850 by William Wirt, Jr., the son of former

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

William Wirt, it has been recognized as a high-quality example of a rural Gothic Revival house of the period.Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission staff.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Wirtland
'. National Park Service, December 1976. Accessed 2009-06-24. Its historic status was recognized in 1979, when it was listed on the

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 ...

. Wirtland is a two-story brick house surrounded by an attached park landscaped in the Victorian style. Constructed in the shape of a cross, the house is built around a central chimney, and multiple porches surround the stucco-covered exterior. The interior includes ornate plasterwork, marble mantels, and a spectacular 2 story spiral staircase. The Gothic theme is carried through many aspects of the ornamentation of the interior. After Wirt's death in 1899, the house was owned by his son and daughter-in-law, William Dabney Wirt and Garnett Pendleton Wirt, who ran a boarding school for women in the house until its sale in 1918. After their ownership, Wirtland was purchased by Robert Edward Lee Lewis, a descendant of Martha Washington through her granddaughter, Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis. In 1924, they sold the house to their friend, author and playwright

Paul Kester Paul Kester (November 2, 1870 – June 21, 1933) was an American playwright and novelist. He was the younger brother of journalist Vaughan Kester and a cousin of the literary editor and critic William Dean Howells. Life and career Kester was born ...

, who had previously owned Woodlawn Plantation and

Gunston Hall Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, United States. Built between 1755 and 1759 as the main residence and headquarters of a plantation, the house was the home of the United State ...

. He sold the house in 1927, to Edward M. L'Engle, the grandson of the builder, Dr. William Wirt, through his eldest daughter, Fannie Wirt, who had grown up in the house. L'Engle lived in Florida but allowed his uncle, William Wirt, to spend his final years there, dying in 1930. After that, L'Engle's cousin, Augusta Dabney Wirt Nalle, and her husband lived at Wirtland. Augusta was the daughter of Daniel Payne Mastin Wirt, who had also grown up in the house. In 1940, Burton and Harriet Slocum purchased the home and oversaw extensive restoration in the 1940s and 1950s. Today, the house is considered one of Virginia's most significant houses of its style, and its park, which is also listed on the Register, is one of the few remaining examples of Victorian

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

. Since 1967, the property has been owned by Ingleside Plantation Nurseries and is the home of the company president. Next door is Roxbury, a Victorian house built by another son of Attorney General Wirt in the 1860s;.Roxbury
Ingleside Vineyards. Accessed 2009-06-24. This home is owned by Ingleside Plantation Vineyards, one of the oldest vineyards in the state. Like Wirtland, Roxbury is listed on the National Register,.

References

External links

Ingleside Vineyards
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses in Westmoreland County, Virginia Gardens in Virginia Landscape design history of the United States Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses completed in 1850 Gothic Revival architecture in Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Westmoreland County, Virginia