Endview Plantation (Harwood Plantation) is an 18th-century

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 ...

which is located on

Virginia State Route 238 State Route 238 (SR 238) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 60 (US 60) in Newport News east to United States Coast Guard Training Center – Yorktown near Yorktown. SR 238 ...

in the Lee Hall community in the northwestern area of the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

History

Earlier known as the Harwood Plantation, the house was built in 1769 by William Harwood along the Great Warwick Road, which linked the colonial capital of Williamsburg with the town of

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

on the harbor of

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

. The house and grounds were used by military forces during the Revolutionary War. General

Thomas Nelson, Jr. Thomas Nelson Jr. (December 26, 1738 – January 4, 1789) was an American Founding Father, soldier and statesman from Yorktown, Virginia. In addition to serving in the Virginia General Assembly for many terms, he twice represented Virginia in t ...

's Virginia Militia used it as a resting place on September 28, 1781, en route to Yorktown shortly before the surrender of the British troops under

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

. Military use again came during 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 th ...

, when the building was occupied by Dr. Humphrey Harwood Curtis, Jr., one of two doctors in

Warwick County, Virginia Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. It became the City of Newport News on July 16, 1952. Located on the Virginia Peninsula on the nort ...

. Endview was briefly used as a field hospital by the Confederacy during the 1862 Battle of Dam Number One (part of the Peninsula Campaign). Endview was acquired by the City of Newport News in 1995. The post Civil War addition to the house was torn down, and the lost chimney rebuild so as to make the building reach its 1860 appearance. The site is now officially known as "The Civil War at Endview: A Living History Museum". It is primarily a House Museum, with visitors touring the four interior rooms, which portray a collection of medical supplies, a standard parlor, Union soldier gear, and a bedroom. Living Historians are only present at special events. The property has been used for once-a-year Civil War Reenactments, and has recently restarted reenactments of the Siege of Yorktown on a bi-annual basis. As of Summer 2010, operating hours have been cut back so that the site is closed to the public Tuesday and Wednesday, with additional closings in the Winter.

Media

Endview Plantation was featured on ''

Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy ''Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy'' is an American travel documentary series that aired for three seasons from 2011 to 2013 on History. It premiered on February 8, 2011. Premise In the series, Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whi ...

'' in the episode "America After Dark". Self-proclaimed "redneck" comedian

Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally by his persona Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, country music artist, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the ...

visited the plantation with ''Southeast Virginia Paranormal Investigations'', a local paranormal team and joined them in investigating the house. The group could not declare the house haunted however, they did gather evidence of possible paranormal activity, such as EVP's of several strange noises and ghost voices on their digital recorders.

References

External links

Endview Plantation website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses completed in 1769 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Virginia municipal and county parks Houses in Newport News, Virginia Plantation houses in Virginia Historic house museums in Virginia Museums in Newport News, Virginia American Civil War museums in Virginia Georgian architecture in Virginia Parks in Newport News, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Newport News, Virginia