Tusculum (Amherst, Virginia)

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Tusculum
Tusculum rear driveway.jpg
Site of the farmstead
Tusculum (Amherst, Virginia) is located in Virginia
Tusculum (Amherst, Virginia)
Location2077 N. Amherst Hwy. (US 29), near Amherst, Virginia
Coordinates37°38′10″N 78°59′51″W / 37.63611°N 78.99750°W / 37.63611; -78.99750Coordinates: 37°38′10″N 78°59′51″W / 37.63611°N 78.99750°W / 37.63611; -78.99750
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Architectural styleGeorgian, Federal
NRHP reference No.04001244[1]
VLR No.005-0020
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 19, 2004
Designated VLRSeptember 8, 2004[2]

Tusculum was a historic home located near Amherst in Amherst County, Virginia, United States. It was a two-story Georgian and Federal style frame house built in two principal phases. The north section was built possibly as early as the 1750s, with the south section added about 1805. It sat on a brick and stone foundation and was covered in beaded weatherboard siding. The house was acquired by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities in 2003.[3] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[1] The house has been described as "one of the oldest and most architecturally significant dwellings in the Virginia Piedmont", and is said by one source to have been the birthplace of Senator William H. Crawford.[4]

Tusculum was once owned by Elijah Fletcher, whose daughter, Indiana Fletcher Williams, was the founder of Sweet Briar College;[5] it was the childhood home of her mother, Maria Crawford.[6][4] The college collaborated with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities to purchase the house for preservation, and in 2006 it was carefully dismantled, and removed to a dairy barn on the college campus. Plans were announced, in 2008, to re-erect the house on land behind Sweet Briar House and turn it into a center for community history and outreach.[5] However, the cost of renovation proved to be too great, and in 2013 it was decided to offer the home for sale, with stipulations as to the manner in which it could be restored.[6] In 2014 the home was purchased by a local couple who announced plans to rebuild it at , around eight miles from its original location in the vicinity of Clifford.[7]

The Tusculum Institute at Sweet Briar College, dedicated to the discussion and preservation of local history and the support and teaching of historic preservation, takes its name from the house.[8][9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-05-12.
  3. ^ J. Daniel Pezzoni (May 2004). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Tusculum" (PDF). and Accompanying two photos
  4. ^ a b "History of a Household". Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b Desrets, Christa. "Sweet Briar College plans to rebuild historic Tusculum in Amherst County". Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b Gore, Sherese. "Sweet Briar looks to sell 18th century Tusculum house". Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  7. ^ Gore, Sherese. "New life for this old Sweet Briar house". Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  8. ^ "About the Tusculum Institute". Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Local Heritage". Retrieved 23 March 2017.


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