Evergreen, one of the

James River Plantations James River plantations were established in the Virginia Colony along the James River between the mouth at Hampton Roads and the head of navigation at the Fall Line where Richmond is today. History The colony struggled for five years after i ...

, is a historic

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 ...

located just east of Hopewell in

Prince George County, Virginia Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George. Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. sta ...

. It was built about 1807 by planter, George Ruffin, and is a two-story, five-bay, Late Georgian / Federal style

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 ...

ed brick dwelling. It sits on a high basement and has a hipped roof. The front facade features a one-story pedimented

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 ...

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 ...

set on a brick podium. George Ruffin's son, ardent secessionist

Edmund Ruffin Edmund Ruffin III (January 5, 1794 – June 17, 1865) was an American planter, politician, scientist, and activist best known as an early advocate for secession of the Southern slave states from the United States. He served in the Virginia Senate ...

, who is credited with firing one of the first shots at

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...

at the start of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

was born at Evergreen in 1794. The house was extensively renovated in the late-1930s, after prior use as a barn and stable. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> Evergreen was 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 ...

in 2002.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Plantation houses in Virginia Houses in Prince George County, Virginia Federal architecture in Virginia Houses completed in 1807 National Register of Historic Places in Prince George County, Virginia Brick buildings and structures in Virginia 1807 establishments in Virginia {{PrinceGeorgeCountyVA-NRHP-stub