Rosewell Plantation located in Glocester County, Virginia. Begun in 1725 by Mann Page (1691-1730 - the great great grandson of my 9X great grandfather) the Flemish bond brick Rosewell mansion overlooking the York River was one of the most elaborate homes in the American colonies. It was described as the largest and finest of American houses of the colonial period. Mann Page was married in 1718 to Judith Carter , the daughter of Robert King Carter and Judith Armistead ( the granddaughter of my10X great grandfather). Mann Page died in 1730 before construction of Roswell was completed. Page had designed the house and his intention was to build a home that would rival or exceed the newly completed Governors Palace in Williamsburg in size and luxury. The primary construction materials were brick, marble and mahogany, some of which was imported from England. The 12,000 square foot house, double the size of the Governors Palace was larger than any home built in colonial Virginia. Upon Pages death the house passed to his wife Judith. Their son, Mann Page II saw the unfinished house through to completion. By then, the Page family was strapped for cash due to the cost of building the great house and Man Page II ultimately sold off a significant portion of his vast land holdings to fund its completion. Like many plantations in the South, Rosewell fell into disrepair following the Civil War. The rooftop cupolas were removed and its lead roof was stripped off and sold as was much of its fine interior woodwork. The mansion was destroyed by fire March 24, 1916. Today, a largely undisturbed historic ruin, the site has been the subject of archaeological work which has revealed many artifacts and shed light on some aspects o colonial life and architecture previously unclear. Thomas Jefferson was a frequent visitor to Rosewell and on one of his visits he wrote the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence in what is now known as the Blue Room situated on the northwest corner of the second story this house. As recently as May 29, 2014 vandals stole 1,000 to 1,500 19th century bricks from the site that were expected to be used to keep the landmark in stable condition.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 01:39:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015