Monticola is a historic

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

home and farm located along the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

near Howardsville,

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 house was built in 1853 for planter, merchant and banker Daniel James Hartsook, and is a three-story, three-bay, brick

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 dwelling. The front facade features a central, two-story, pedimented

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 ...

. The rear facade has a semi-circular, two-level, porch with

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

details. It was added about 1890 by

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

born

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 ...

tobacco exporter, Emil Otto Nolting, who had purchased the estate three years earlier in 1887. The four corners of the house are adorned by giant stuccoed pilasters. The original two-story, brick kitchen building is attached to the house by an enclosed breezeway. Also on the property are a

smokehouse A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is curing (food preservation), cured with Smoking (cooking), smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.corn crib A corn crib or corncrib is a type of granary used to dry and store corn. It may also be known as a cornhouse or corn house. Overview After the harvest and while still on the cob, corn is placed in the crib either with or without the husk. The ...

, and the foundation of a late-19th century

spring house A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a spring. While the original purpose of a springhouse was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosing str ...

. an
''Accompanying two photos''
/ref> During 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 ...

Monticola was briefly commandeered by Union Army General Phillip Sheridan who used it as his headquarters while his forces raided Howardsville and the surrounding area. 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 1990.

References

External links

Photographs of Monticola in the Library of Congress, Carnegie Survey of the Architecture of the South, 1935
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Colonial Revival architecture in Virginia Greek Revival houses in Virginia Houses completed in 1853 Houses in Albemarle County, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Albemarle County, Virginia Brick buildings and structures in Virginia {{AlbemarleCountyVA-NRHP-stub