Bassett Hall is an 18th-century farmhouse located in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

. It was the home of

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...

and his wife

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Abigail Greene Aldrich Rockefeller (October 26, 1874 – April 5, 1948) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was a prominent member of the Rockefeller family through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller ...

during the restoration of

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 ...

Early history

The house was built by Philip Johnson, a member of the Virginia

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...

, between 1753 and 1766. It was named for

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

's nephew,

Burwell Bassett Burwell Bassett, Jr. (March 18, 1764 – February 26, 1841) was an American planter and politician from New Kent County and for two decades from Williamsburg in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like his father, he served in both chambers of the ...

, who purchased the house in 1800. During the Civil War, the Union cavalryman

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

was a guest in the home for 10 days. Custer was in town to attend the wedding of a West Point classmate, a Confederate who had been wounded in the

Battle of Williamsburg The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first p ...

Rockefeller Home

In 1926, Rev. Dr.

W.A.R. Goodwin William Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin (June 18, 1869 – September 7, 1939) (or W.A.R. Goodwin as he preferred or "the Doctor" as commonly used to his annoyance) was an Episcopal priest, historian, and author. As the rector of Bruton Parish Church, ...

Bruton Parish Church Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epi ...

approached philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. with the idea of preserving and restoring the historic buildings of Williamsburg. After strolling through the great trees behind Bassett Hall in contemplation, Rockefeller agreed. Goodwin later suggested:

I wish you would buy Bassett Hall for yourself. It would give you a charming vantage point from which to play with the vision and dream which you see.

Bassett Hall became the Rockefellers' residence during their twice-annual visits to Williamsburg.

Open to the Public

The Rockefeller family bequeathed Bassett Hall to Colonial Williamsburg in 1979. The home is now open to the public and appears much as it did in the 1930s and 1940s when the Rockefellers made it their home. The gardens are in the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

style.Wright, Renee. ''Virginia Beach, Richmond & Tidewater Virginia including Williamsburg, Norfolk and Jamestown: A Great Destination.'' Woodstock, Vt.: Countryman Press, 2010, p. 161.

References

External links

Colonial Williamsburg: Bassett HallColonial Williamsburg Journal, Autumn 2002, ''"Our little colonial house" Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and Bassett Hall''
{{Colonial Williamsburg Houses in Williamsburg, Virginia Museums in Williamsburg, Virginia Colonial Williamsburg Historic house museums in Virginia Rockefeller family residences Houses completed in 1766