Blenheim is a historic home and farm complex located at Blenheim,

Albemarle County, Virginia Albemarle County is a United States county (United States), county located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Piedmont region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, Virginia, Charlottes ...

. The once very large surrounding plantation was established by John Carter. Late in the 18th century, his son Edward Carter became the county's largest landowner, and in addition to public duties including service in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

built a mansion on this plantation where he and his family resided mostly in summers (and which he leased to the Virginia government during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

to house captured British officers pending prisoner exchanges), but which was destroyed by fire and sold by auction circa 1840. The current historic main house and outbuildings were built by politician and diplomat

Andrew Stevenson Andrew Stevenson (January 21, 1784 – January 25, 1857) was an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. He represented Richmond, Virginia in the Virginia House of Delegates and eventually became its speaker before being elected to the United ...

in 1846. It is a -story, six-bay, gable-roofed frame building with

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

and

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style details. It has an ell at the rear of the west end. The front facade features a pair of one-story tetrastyle porches with pairs of

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

piers. A notable outbuilding is the square "Athenaeum", a one-story, one-room, frame Greek Revival building with a pyramidal hipped roof and portico supported on Doric piers. Also on the property are a frame kitchen/laundry, a "chapel" or schoolhouse, and two smoke houses. Also on the property are two dwellings, one of which is supposed to have been built to accommodate Justice

Roger B. Taney Roger Brooke Taney ( ; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 186 ...

on his visits to Blenheim. an
''Accompanying photo''
It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1976. Blenheim Vineyards was established in 2000 on part of the property once owned by

Edward Carter (of Blenheim) Edward Hill Carter (1733–1793) was a Virginia planter, military officer and politician, who served terms in the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Virginia House of Delegates, representing Albemarle County. He was a neighbor and correspondent ...

, who sold a parcel to

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

which was in turn sold to

Filippo Mazzei Filippo Mazzei (; December 25, 1730 – March 19, 1816), also known in English as Philip Mazzei and sometimes erroneously cited as Philip Mazzie, was an Italian physician, philosopher, diplomat, winemaker, merchant, and author. A close friend of ...

, who established one of the first Virginia wineries early in the 19th century. Sites with a similar names but in other Virginia counties include * Blenheim (Spring Mills, Virginia), a historic home in

Campbell County, Virginia Campbell County is a United States county situated in the south central part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Campbell borders the Blue Ridge Mountains. The county seat is Rustburg. Grounded on a to ...

* Historic Blenheim, a 19th-century Greek Revival farm house in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most p ...

* Blenheim (Ballsville, Virginia), a historic home in

Powhatan County, Virginia Powhatan County () is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,033. Its county seat is Powhatan. Powhatan County is included in the Greater Richmond Region. The James River forms the coun ...

Blenheim (Wakefield Corner, Virginia) Blenheim is a historic home located near Wakefield Corner, Westmoreland County, Virginia. It was built about 1781, and is a two-story, three-bay, Late Georgian style brick dwelling. It has a gable roof and two-story, frame wing. The house was ...

, a historic home in

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Neck of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross, Virginia, Montross ...

References

External links

Blenheim Library, State Route 727, Charlottesville, Charlottesville, VA
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS) Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Greek Revival houses in Virginia Carpenter Gothic houses in Virginia Houses completed in 1846 Houses in Albemarle County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Albemarle County, Virginia Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia {{AlbemarleCountyVA-NRHP-stub