Carter Hall was the

Millwood, Virginia Millwood is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community located in Clarke County, Virginia, United States. Millwood is the home of many of Clarke County's most historic sites including the Burwell-Morgan Mill (1785), Carter Hall (Millwood, V ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

estate of Lt. Col.

Nathaniel Burwell Nathaniel Burwell (April 15, 1750March 29, 1814) was an American politician and plantation owner. Perhaps the most distinguished of five men of that name to serve in the Virginia General Assembly before the American Civil War (as distinguished b ...

(1750–1814). It is located in the upper

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

, off Virginia Route 255 northeast of Millwood. The estate includes a grand

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and ...

, a great lawn, and terraced gardens, and has panoramic views in all directions. It is listed on 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 ...

History

(1750–1814) inherited a estate from his father Carter Burwell, including

Carter's Grove Carter's Grove, also known as Carter's Grove Plantation, is a plantation located on the north shore of the James River in the Grove Community of southeastern James City County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of Virg ...

James City County James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located o ...

, and about 5000 acres in what was then Frederick County. He developed the land with the

Burwell-Morgan Mill Burwell-Morgan Mill, also known as the Millwood Mill, is a historic grist mill located at Millwood, Clarke County, Virginia, USA. It was built about 1785 by Gen. Daniel Morgan and Lt. Col. Nathaniel Burwell, who both served in the American Rev ...

and normally spent summers nearby (the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

' foothills being cooler and less subject to malaria than the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is 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 Point near whe ...

area). After the American Revolutionary War and his first wife's death, Col. Burwell remarried and with the assistance of former General

Daniel Morgan Daniel Morgan (c. 1736 – July 6, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia. One of the most respected battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he later commanded troops during the sup ...

began building the plantation house he called 'Carter Hall' during 1792–1800. Col. Nathaniel Burwell at his peak owned 8000 acres and enslaved more than 200 people in Frederick County; the next largest landowners enslaving 53, 43 and 28 people. Col. Burwell would die at Carter Hall in 1814, but his estate would not settle until his widow's death in 1843. Carter Hall would be inherited by one of his sons by his second wife, George Harrison Burwell (1799–1873). Col. Burwell invited his cousin, U.S.

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

Edmund Randolph Edmund Jennings Randolph (August 10, 1753 September 12, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States, attorney, and the seventh Governor of Virginia. As a delegate from Virginia, he attended the Constitutional Convention and helped to cre ...

, who had been

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

and later Secretary of State under

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, to pass his retirement at Carter Hall. Both are buried outside

Old Chapel (Millwood, Virginia) Old Chapel is a historic Episcopal church building located near Millwood, Clarke County, Virginia. Old Chapel is now the oldest Episcopal church building still in use west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was listed on the National Register of ...

, built in 1790 on land donated by Col. Burwell, and sometimes referred to as the "Burwell graveyard" because of succeeding generations of this branch of the Burwell family buried there. Col. Burwell's son Nathaniel Burwell Jr. (1779–1849) helped to form Clarke County from the eastern part Frederick County and at nearly 2400 acres and 52 enslaved people was its largest landowners. He served as one its justices of the peace at various times, as well as its joint delegate in the Virginia General Assembly with neighboring Warren County (which the Castleman family dominated), but lived at

Saratoga (Boyce, Virginia) Saratoga, also known as the General Daniel Morgan House, is a historic plantation house near Boyce, Virginia. It was built in 1779 by Daniel Morgan, a general in the Continental Army best known for his victory over the British at the Battle of ...

, a plantation he bought from Gen. Morgan in 1809 after the retired soldier moved to

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

to live with his family. Carter Hall has a five-bay central block built of local limestone, originally with a central hall flanked by rooms extending the full depth of the house (single-pile plan). The flanking two-bay wings have pediment gable ends and the outermost, single-story wings are of a single bay, formerly with pediment ends. G.H. Burwell added the large

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

, which is "by tradition" ascribed to a design of

William Thornton William Thornton (May 20, 1759 – March 28, 1828) was an American physician, inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first Superintendent of the United Sta ...

, architect of the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

. Two navy ships have been named after this plantation. The first USS ''Carter Hall'' (LSD-3) was an ''Ashland''-class dock landing ship in service from 1943 to 1947 and was Recommissioned from 1961 until 1969. The second USS ''Carter Hall'' (LSD-50) is a Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship commissioned in 1995 and still in use today.

Civil War

It served as headquarters for

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general and military officer who served during the American Civil War. He played a prominent role in nearly all military engagements in the eastern the ...

during part of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and was raided and sacked by Union troops during the war. Stonewall Jackson used another house, in

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

, as headquarters during 1861–1862, and and established headquarters at Carter Hall during the fall of 1862. Jackson "declined George Burwell's invitation to stay in the house, camping instead with his men on the grounds. During his stay General Jackson permitted his surgeon, Dr.

Hunter McGuire Hunter Holmes McGuire (October 11, 1835 – September 19, 1900) was an American soldier, physician, teacher, and orator. McGuire was a surgeon in the Confederate Army attached to Stonewall Jackson's command, and he continued serving with the Army ...

, to perform a

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens (anatomy), lens of the eye that leads to a visual impairment, decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or ...

operation on George Burwell on the portico." George's son, C.S.A. private Nathaniel Burwell (1838–1862) fought in the Stonewall Brigade and ultimately died that fall of wounds sustained at the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

. Several more of Col. Nathaniel Burwell's great-grandsons enlisted in the Confederate army, including three sons of his grandson (through his son William Nelson Burwell of 'Glenowen', d. 1822) Nathaniel Burwell (1819–1896), with Robert dying of wounds received at the

Battle of Brandy Station The Battle of Brandy Station, also called the Battle of Fleetwood Hill, was the largest predominantly cavalry engagement of the American Civil War, as well as the largest ever to take place on American soil. It was fought on June 9, 1863, around ...

, George later becoming a mercenary in Mexico, sons Philip, John and William surviving and becoming physicians, and their youngest brother Thomas (1861–1923) farming and inheriting Carter Hall.

1930 remodel

The house was remodeled in 1930 for its new owner Gerard Lambert "under the direction of the fashionable New York architect, H.T. Lindeberg," and a four-level terraced garden designed by landscape architect Wade Muldoon was added in 1948. The

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

was removed from the exterior to expose the stone. In the house the central hall and east room were combined into a single space and the original wainscoting was replaced with richly-detailed neo- Georgian details based on woodwork at

Shirley Plantation Shirley Plantation is an Estate (house), estate on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. It is located on scenic byway State Route 5 (Virginia), State Route 5, between Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and Williamsburg, ...

, Virginia. The dining room is the only room to retain significant portions of its original fittings. Carter Hall was listed on the

in 1973.

Present day

Acquired in 1978 it is currently a conference center owned by

Project Hope Project Hope (希望工程; ''Xiwang gongcheng'') is a Chinese public service project organized by the China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) and the Communist Youth League (CYL) Central Committee. Started in 1989, it aims to bring schools i ...

. The organization on November 27, 2018, placed the center with on the market for $12,000,000 (~$ in ).

References

External links