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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Brookneal in Campbell County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Patrick Henry House

 
 
Patrick Henry House Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By David Lassman, August 18, 2018
1. Patrick Henry House Marker
Inscription. When Patrick Henry purchased Red Hill in 1794, there existed on this site a modest four-room, one-and-a-half story dwelling, which had been constructed shortly before the Revolutionary War.

After Patrick Henry's death, the house passed to his youngest son, John, who inherited the western portion of the Red Hill plantation. In 1833, John Henry and his wife, Elvira, expanded the house, orienting its front to face the Staunton River valley (see left above). Red Hill was inherited by John and Elvira's son William Wirt Henry, who lived most of the year in Richmond, hiring an overseer to run the plantation. Eventually, the estate became the property of his daughter Lucy Henry Harrison. Around 1910, Mrs. Harrison engaged the noted Philadelphia architect, Charles Barton Keen, to enlarge the house to eighteen rooms (see right above.) In 1919, the house burned to the ground.

After Mrs. Harrison's death in 1944, the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation was formed. Through the philanthropy of Eugene B.Casey, the Patrick Henry house was reconstructed in 1957. Stanhope Johnson of Lynchburg, who has assisted Charles Barton Keen in the 1910 expansion of the house, was the architect of the reconstruction. The brick outline at ground level marks portions of the 1833 and 1911 to Henry's dwelling.

An archaeological study conducted in 2001

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reveal an expanse of cobblestones on the river-facing side of the house, which likely marks the foundation of a greenhouse that John and Elvira Henry built. This discovery confirms the accuracy of a description written by one of Patrick Henry's great-granddaughters, Elvira Henry Miller, who described "...a large greenhouse on one side towards the river: two of the chamber windows looked into it. This must have been beautiful in winter—to look in on orange and lemon trees... I especially remember the cape jasmines, covered with lovely fragrant white blossoms." Today, many of the plants that Elvira propagated in this greenhouse are still seen here at Red Hill.
 
Erected by Red Hill, Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: ArchitectureNotable Places. A significant historical year for this entry is 1794.
 
Location. 37° 1.933′ N, 78° 53.883′ W. Marker is in Brookneal, Virginia, in Campbell County. Marker is on Red Hill Road (County Route 677) one mile south of Staunton Hill Road (County Route 619). Marker is about 500 feet from the visitor center. Walk 500 feet south from the Visitor Center towards Patrick Henry's house. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1250 Red Hill Rd, Brookneal VA 24528, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Osage Orange Tree (here, next to this marker);
Exterior of the Patrick Henry House image. Click for full size.
Photographed By David Lassman, August 18, 2018
2. Exterior of the Patrick Henry House
Slave Cabin (within shouting distance of this marker); Henry Family Graveyard (within shouting distance of this marker); Last Law Office of Patrick Henry (within shouting distance of this marker); Red Hill Plantation (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Red Hill (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named Red Hill (about 400 feet away); Red Hill Scatter Garden (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Brookneal.
 
Also see . . .
1. Red Hill Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation. (Submitted on January 16, 2019, by David Lassman of Waldorf, Maryland.)
2. Red Hill (Historic American Buildings Survey notes). "Significance: The Red Hill complex that exists today is a 1950s interpretation of a small but typical well-to-do eighteenth-century plantation. It includes the main dwelling and six detached service buildings: an office, kitchen, privy, smokehouse, stables and carriage house, and slave cabin. Most of these have been reconstructed, although the office and cabin are purported to be in part
Interior of the Patrick Henry House image. Click for full size.
Photographed By David Lassman, August 18, 2018
3. Interior of the Patrick Henry House
original to Henry's tenure. The estate was inherited through the Henry line, and in 1907 Lucy Harrison, Henry's great-granddaughter, employed Philadelphia architect Charles Barton Keen to design additions to and supervise the construction of a new wing to the John Henry house, incorporating the original Patrick Henry house. Keen, in turn, employed as his assistant a young local architect named Stanhope S. Johnson. He surveyed the property and made detailed sketches of the existing house, including a portion that was the original Patrick Henry dwelling. Harrison's house, including the wing containing the original Patrick Henry house, burned in 1919. Johnson's sketches, made between 1907 and 1912, provided the basis for Johnson's reconstruction of the plantation in 1956-57. National Park Service researchers apparently had access to the sketches in 1962, but they have since been lost. By all indications, Johnson was meticulous and it is likely that the reconstructed house is an accurate reproduction of the original that he measured ca. 1907." (Submitted on January 17, 2019.) 
 
Interior of the Patrick Henry House image. Click for full size.
Photographed By David Lassman, August 18, 2018
4. Interior of the Patrick Henry House
Landscape surrounding the Patrick Henry House image. Click for full size.
Photographed By David Lassman, August 18, 2018
5. Landscape surrounding the Patrick Henry House
<i>Home of Patrick Henry, Red Hill, Va.</i> image. Click for full size.
circa 1915
6. Home of Patrick Henry, Red Hill, Va.
Postcard view of the home, as depicted on the marker. Note that the image on the marker has been cropped somewhat.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 17, 2019. It was originally submitted on January 15, 2019, by David Lassman of Waldorf, Maryland. This page has been viewed 301 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 15, 2019, by David Lassman of Waldorf, Maryland.   6. submitted on January 17, 2019. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024