Ionia is a frame house near
Trevilians, Virginia, that was the centerpiece of a large plantation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Built around 1775, Ionia was the home of the Watson family. It was built as Clover Plains by Major James Watson, the son of a Scottish immigrant, in a fertile area of
Louisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,596. The county seat is Louisa.
History
Prior to colonial settlement, the area comprising Louisa County was occupied by sever ...
that is now a
National Historic Landmark District
A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...
, the
Green Springs National Historic Landmark District.
The plantation was the third largest in Louisa County in the late 18th century, leading to the nickname "Wheat Stacks" for Watson as a result of his prosperity. After Major Watson's death in 1845 the house passed to his son, Dr. George Watson, who renamed the house "Ionia" and, since he lived in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, used it as a summer residence. George Watson died in 1854, leaving Ionia to his widow, who lived there until the 1870s. Following her death in 1879 the property was subdivided. The Watson family went on to build a number of houses in the Green Springs area.
The house is a -story frame structure, covered with wood clapboards. One-story wings flank the main block on either side, with an ell to the rear. The house retains much of its original woodwork. The property includes several dependencies, including a dairy house, smoke house, kitchen, slave quarters and an early barn.
[
Ionia was placed 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 ...
on June 30, 1972.
References
External links
Ionia
at the Green Springs National Historic Landmark District, NPS
Ionia (Main House), Near Route 640, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, 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)
Ionia, Barn, Route 640 vicinity, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Ionia, Outbuilding, Route 640 vicinity, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
Ionia, Smokehouse, Route 640 vicinity, Trevilians vicinity, Louisa, VA
at HABS
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Houses in Louisa County, Virginia
Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia
Scottish-American culture in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Louisa County, Virginia
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Slave cabins and quarters in the United States