Historical Guide To Old Charlottesville - free ebook by Mary Rawlings

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Historical Guide To Old Charlottesville

Mary Rawlings

32 chapters

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32 chapters

HISTORICAL GUIDE TO OLD CHARLOTTESVILLE With Mention of Its Statues and of Albemarle’s Shrines

HISTORICAL GUIDE TO OLD CHARLOTTESVILLE With Mention of Its Statues and of Albemarle’s Shrines

Compiled by Mary Rawlings Honorary President of The Albemarle County Historical Society Copyright 1958 Mary Rawlings and Velora C. Thomson CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA COURT SQUARE 1828 CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA Floyd Johnson Courtesy of Alb. Co. Hist. Soc. Albemarle County Courthouse. Built 1803. J. Rawlings Thomson Upon the forming of the County of Albemarle in 1745, its boundaries included what are now Buckingham, Amherst, Nelson, and Fluvanna Counties, with parts of Appomattox and Campbell—the

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TARLETON AND JACK JOUETT.

TARLETON AND JACK JOUETT.

As the Revolutionary War drew to its end the little building knew a brief notoriety. Before the threat of Cornwallis, Governor Jefferson and the Legislature refugeed, May 24, 1781, to re-convene in Charlottesville. The Legislature met in the Court House, the overflow occupying the Swan Tavern across the street. Cornwallis dispatched in pursuit his “hunting leopard,” Col. Banastre Tarleton, with a troup of 180 cavalry and 70 mounted infantry. These reached the village on the morning of June 4th,

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PRESENT COURT HOUSE BUILDING

PRESENT COURT HOUSE BUILDING

The main portion of the present court house was built by order of court, 1803. A committee of three produced the plan. (Mr. Jefferson was not one of these, but is said to have approved the design.) We do not know the style of the original portico; the present entrance and T-front are post-Civil War. The grounds held the usual whipping post, stocks, and pillory, and as late as 1857 the whipping post was restored. The court house long served as the town’s public building, and the denominations use

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JEFFERSON’S WILL

JEFFERSON’S WILL

“I give to my good, affectionate, and faithful servant, Burwell, his freedom and the sum of three hundred dollars to buy the necessaries to commence his trade of painter and glazier, or to use otherwise as he pleases. I give also to my good servants, John Hemings and Joe Fosset, their freedom at the end of one year after my death, and to each of them respectively, all of the tools of their respective shops or callings, and it is my will that a comfortable log house be built for each of the three

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COURT HOUSE VOTING

COURT HOUSE VOTING

Until towards the middle of the 1800’s this court house was the sole voting place in Albemarle County. Elections were held on court days. Only “Freeholders”—white, adult males owning at least twenty-five acres of land with a building on it—had the franchise. The secret ballot was unknown. Candidates were required to be present throughout the election, and by popular custom they were expected to furnish a “treat” for their followers. These supplies of food, and especially of drink, became an expe

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JOHN S. MOSBY.

JOHN S. MOSBY.

Coming momentarily down to the War-Between-the-States era, Virginia’s famous cavalry officer, Col. John S. Mosby, is doubly connected with this building. Mosby came to Albemarle as a small boy, grew up near town, and attended the University. While a student, he—in an altercation—shot and seriously wounded a man. He was tried in this building and sentenced to a year in prison; but he was pardoned after serving seven months. During the war, as “Ranger Mosby,” he had a brilliant guerrilla career. I

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TOWN HALL

TOWN HALL

These old, early nineteenth-century houses have a grave and quaint charm of their own. At the corner of Park and East High Streets stands a large red brick building now known as the Park View Apartment, 350 Park Street. It was erected in 1851 “for the purpose of a town Hall.” Up to that time the lot had served as a playground for men and boys, and was known as the Battery. Later, the hall became the Levy Opera House, but with the coming of the movies its public functions declined....

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SWAN TAVERN

SWAN TAVERN

The Red Land Club now occupies the site of one of the old buildings of the village, the famous Swan Tavern. The exact date of the tavern’s building is not known; the lot was bought in 1773. The building was a wooden structure with its painted sign of a swan hanging over the door. It was the home of the Jouett family. Jack Jouett, hero of the famous ride, lived here, and here the refugeeing members of the Virginia Legislature convened in 1781. In 1812 the tavern became known as the War Office, as

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SLAVE TRADE

SLAVE TRADE

Farish House. Now Old Wing of Monticello Hotel. J. Rawlings Thomson Number Nothing (now Numbers 240-242 Court Square) is the original house on this lot. It was built in 1820; a double store, separately owned and handled. The name comes from the fact that at first the lot was intended for a horse lot. When it was sold the other lots had been numbered in rotation; a sequence was impossible, so Number Nothing was chosen. Traditions of the slave trade cluster here. Until some forty years ago there w

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VILLAGE LIBRARY

VILLAGE LIBRARY

223 Court Square was built in 1815 as a store. Next, where Number 222 now stands, formerly stood two small wooden buildings. The first was a small, one-room affair, the village library. Mr. Jefferson made substantial contributions of books from his great collection. A few of these volumes, bearing both his signature and the stamp of the library, are preserved in the Alderman Library at the University....

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SWISS WATCH-MAKER

SWISS WATCH-MAKER

The second little house was the shop of a Swiss watch-maker, who was induced to settle here by Mr. Jefferson, who at intervals brought in other European artisans: Italians to introduce wine-making, an Italian coach-builder, and stone-cutters to carve the capitols at the University....

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EAGLE TAVERN

EAGLE TAVERN

On the Square’s South side stood the famous Eagle Tavern. Its site is now the East wing of the Monticello Hotel. For almost two centuries this spot has been the site of a house of entertainment, and has never had any other use. The date of the first building is not recorded. The lot was cut off and sold in 1765; the village then was two years old, and the lot was new. When sold for the second time, in 1791, it is described as a tavern. The building probably followed the first purchase. The Eagle

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“SATAN’S THUMB”

“SATAN’S THUMB”

In passing through the place in 1818, Dr. Conrad Speece attempted to preach at night in the court house, but nearly failed, due to the insufficient light, and the rudeness of the boys. He spent the night at the tavern, and such were the sentiments uttered by the prominent gentlemen, and such the conduct of the young men frequenting the tavern, that he said the next day: “When Satan promised all the kingdoms of the world to Christ, he laid his thumb on Charlottesville, and whispered, ‘ except thi

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SHERIDAN’S RAID

SHERIDAN’S RAID

Charlottesville was occupied by Sheridan’s Cavalry, U.S.A., arriving March 3rd, 1865, and leaving on the 6th. Their entry was from the West, and troops encamped in many sections of the town: “above the University,” South of the University (Piedmont), Belmont, Park Street, what is now Locust Grove, etc. A committee from the University secured guards for that institution and it was uninjured. There was no burning in the town with the exception of the Woolen Mills, East Market Street, which had fur

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ESCAPE FROM GALLOWS

ESCAPE FROM GALLOWS

Capt. Farish was on Adjutant-General duty in South-side Virginia. He obtained leave to return to Albemarle for the protection of his family. He was captured in civilian dress and taken to the custody of Gen. Custer—in Farish’s own home. Receiving him, Custer said, “Capt. Farish, in these unusual circumstances, I don’t know whether it is my duty to ask you to take a seat or yours to ask me.” The civilian dress classed Farish as a spy, and Sheridan sentenced him to death by hanging. Workmen erecte

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MILITARY OCCUPATION

MILITARY OCCUPATION

At the close of the war the country was under military government. The civil courts were closed, right of public assembly denied, and the usual further restrictions. Government headquarters were in Richmond, and Military Commissioners controlled the separate counties under direction from the central offices. This occupation continued for two years. Albemarle was fortunate in the character of the U. S. Army officers who filled this difficult role. On the first of these—Captain Linn Tidball—severa

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MONTICELLO Monticello Mt.

MONTICELLO Monticello Mt.

The home of Thomas Jefferson, designed and built by himself upon land inherited from his father—Colonel Peter Jefferson, member of the House of Burgesses and Lieutenant-Colonel of the County. The leveling of the mountain top began, 1768. Due to successive additions and alterations, completion of the buildings was later than 1809. Following the burning of Shadwell, his father’s home, Jefferson moved to Monticello (the Southwest Out Chamber) in 1771 and in 1772 brought his bride there. She was Mar

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ASH LAWN 2 mi. beyond Monticello

ASH LAWN 2 mi. beyond Monticello

Home of James Monroe, twice Governor of Virginia, U. S. Senator, Secretary of State and War, Minister to France and to England, and twice President of the United States. James Monroe was born in 1758 at his father’s home, Monroe’s Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia. He studied at Williamsburg, served with distinction in the Revolutionary War, and practiced law for eighteen months in Fredericksburg. His removal to Albemarle was the fulfillment of a long-cherished plan, as his pleasant letters t

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BUILDING OF ASH LAWN

BUILDING OF ASH LAWN

Due to Monroe’s prolonged absences—Washington, France, England—the development of the estate was delayed. Jefferson, and Monroe’s uncle, Joseph Jones, Chief Justice of Virginia, had oversight of planning and building. The exact date of the moving in is given in a letter from Monroe. “November 22, 1799. I was yesterday at Monticello, where Mr. Jefferson informed me he proposed a visit to you ... I told him it would ... immediately appear throughout the nation. He declined the trip ... in the pers

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SALE OF ASH LAWN

SALE OF ASH LAWN

As is well known, Monroe’s life was straitened by debt. Under this pressure, he wrote to Jefferson as early as 1814 of a plan to sell either his Loudon estate or that in Albemarle, adding: “intending however, not to sell that in Albemarle unless the price be such as to indemnify me for the sacrifice I shall make in relinquishing a residence of 26 years’ standing, as mine has been, and near old friends to whom I am greatly attached.” Writings, Vol. V, p. 287. The sale finally took place, January

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BOXWOOD GARDEN AND STATUE

BOXWOOD GARDEN AND STATUE

Ash Lawn’s widely known boxwood garden is held, by local tradition, to have been designed by a French landscape artist who during Monroe’s presidency was engaged in work for Washington City. Certainly the old formal planting and the size of the slow-growing dwarf box (suffruticosa) do not clash with this belief. The garden now is dominated by a marble statue of Monroe. This was presented to the president’s home upon the hundredth anniversary of his death, by the sculptor Attilio Piccirilli, whos

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THE MICHIE TAVERN Rt. 53, Monticello Road

THE MICHIE TAVERN Rt. 53, Monticello Road

This authentic eighteenth century tavern was moved, 1927, from its original site on the Buck Mountain Road in North Albemarle to its present location on Monticello Road. Before-and-after photographs show that while some later tamperings were done away with, the original structure was scrupulously preserved—with the exception of the cellar, whose massive slave masonry it was not possible to transport or reproduce. This tavern bears the name of William Michie, son of the John Michie of Louisa Coun

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LEWIS AND CLARK STATUE Junction of West Main and Ridge Streets

LEWIS AND CLARK STATUE Junction of West Main and Ridge Streets

Sculptor, Charles Keck. Unveiled, November 21, 1919. This work is of the romantic school. It is a three-figure group; Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacajawea, the young Indian guide with her papoose. In beauty of design and of execution it will repay prolonged scrutiny. The pedestal with its carved symbolism should not be overlooked....

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LOCATION OF STATUE

LOCATION OF STATUE

Our present Main Street is the Colonial Three-chopt Road, which led from Richmond, passed Boyd’s Tavern and crossed the Rivanna at Secretary’s Ford—now the Woolen Mills (East Market Street). Crossing Mechum’s River it struck in a straight line for Woods’ (now Jarman’s) Gap. It was in use prior to 1746. Though not associated with the expedition, it was felt appropriate to place the explorers on a great early artery and facing into the West....

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MERIWETHER LEWIS

MERIWETHER LEWIS

Young Meriwether Lewis—he was only thirty-five at death—was born in Albemarle in 1774. He was ‘Albemarle of Albemarle.’ The Lewis family was already old Virginia stock when Robert Lewis took up large holdings in what is now this county. He was Meriwether Lewis’s grandfather. He owned the handsome estate of Belvoir, near Cismont, and some ten thousand acres in other parts of the county. Meriwether Lewis’s mother was a granddaughter of ‘the great Landowner,’ Nicholas Meriwether, who came up from t

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WILLIAM CLARK

WILLIAM CLARK

By a few years, William Clark, joint explorer of the Pacific Coast, failed to be of Albemarle birth. Jonathan Clark of King and Queen County, Virginia, in 1734 took out holdings in the county. His dwelling was a plain house on the Stony Point Road very near the site of Buena Vista, the McMurdo residence. He had two famous grandsons; the elder, George Rogers Clark, was born in that cabin. The younger, William, was born in Caroline County where his father had inherited substantial property. Willia

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LOUISIANA PURCHASE.

LOUISIANA PURCHASE.

It is perhaps not always realized that Albemarle was the Louisiana Purchase. Three of the actors in this great drama—Jefferson, Lewis and Monroe—lived here within a ten-mile radius. A circle with that diameter would include Monticello, Ash Lawn and Locust Hill. As members of a small and closely integrated social class these men knew each other intimately in private life. Despite the difference in age, Jefferson and Lewis had attended the same private classical school; Monroe had at one time stud

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STONEWALL JACKSON STATUE Jackson Park. East Jefferson Street Adjoining Court House

STONEWALL JACKSON STATUE Jackson Park. East Jefferson Street Adjoining Court House

Sculptor, Charles Keck. Unveiled, October 19, 1921. This dynamic equestrian figure, of the romantic school, already ranks among the world’s “great action” sculptures. It is known that the artist, at its inception, came to Albemarle to study Virginia-bred horses and the Virginia seat in the saddle. A local horse-fancier demonstrated these points. The beautiful pedestal is enfolded in the superb wing-sweep of two symbolic forms—Faith and Valor. Thomas Jonathan Jackson—Virginian by birth, graduate

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GEORGE ROGERS CLARK STATUE West Main Street near Twelfth

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK STATUE West Main Street near Twelfth

Sculptor, Robert Ingersol Aitkin. Unveiled, January 6th, 1922. This seven-figure group portrays the mounted Conqueror of the North West in conference with a standing Indian chief, who shares the central focus. Their attendants complete the vital and finely balanced conception. A surrounding planting of pine suggests a forest atmosphere. This frontier military leader was born in Albemarle County, 1752, on the Stony Point Road. His family removed to Caroline County when he was five years of age, a

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LEE STATUE Lee Park. East Jefferson and N. 2nd Streets Opposite Charlottesville Library

LEE STATUE Lee Park. East Jefferson and N. 2nd Streets Opposite Charlottesville Library

Sculptor, Leo Lentelli. Unveiled, May 21, 1924. This equestrian figure of Lee is in monument style. The block which it occupies was from 1929 the Southall-Venable home. Lee Statue. 1924. J. Rawlings Thomson Miniature Model of Lee. 1937. J. Rawlings Thomson Robert Edward Lee was born, 1807, at Stratford, Virginia, of distinguished ancestry. The family’s founder came to Virginia in the reign of Charles I, and became the colony’s Secretary of State and a member of the privy Council of Virginia. A g

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MINIATURE MODEL OF LEE Charlottesville Library N. 2nd and East Jefferson Streets

MINIATURE MODEL OF LEE Charlottesville Library N. 2nd and East Jefferson Streets

Sculptor, Henry M. Shrady. Presented by the Honourable and Mrs. Alexander Wilbourne Weddell through the Richmond Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. 1937. This charming equestrian figure of the Confederate General, by Shrady, was executed as the first step in a heroic statue commissioned by Mr. McIntire. The sculptor’s sudden death prevented the fulfillment of this contract, but Charlottesville is fortunate in owning this model of the artist’s noble conception....

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ENVOI

ENVOI

In the 1870’s the town’s postmaster lay in his final illness. In the manner of the day a friend sat beside his bed and extolled the blessedness of heaven. The old gentleman assented quietly, adding, “but I believe I should prefer to compromise and remain in Charlottesville.”...

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