Saturday, April 21, 2018
10:00 a.m.-- 5:00 p.m.
These houses have stories to tell. Auburn (1824) and Dunham Massie (1845) have long histories and, therefore, the lore of many generations, but Cottage Point (2005) passes on the legacy of its “mother ship” Lowland Cottage (c.1670) and the history of its families. Expect to be beguiled by the tales of many generations as these home-places have persevered through the days of antebellum tension, Civil War fighting and occupation, and reconstruction readjustment — all this on the banks of our beautiful rivers.
Auburn (11 Old Auburn Road). Photos courtesy of Sandy Geiger.
Auburn (11 Old Auburn Road, North, VA)
Auburn Plantation, on the North River, has been one of the historic and architectural showplaces in Tidewater Virginia for almost two centuries. Completed in 1824 by Dr. Henry Wythe Tabb, Auburn is a Federal-style mansion of three stories over an English basement. A pair of simple satin slippers on display in the front hall, tell a tragic story. One of Dr. Tabb’s daughters, Mary Eliza, was wearing the slippers when she fell down the curving staircase in Auburn’s front hall and died several hours later. Her ghost is said to appear on occasion. After passing through various owners, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Auburn was purchased by the current owners in 1997. Today Auburn comprises 31 acres of expansive lawns and gardens with broad views across the river to Ware Neck. Mr. and Mrs. Claude S. (“Chip”) Hornsby, owners.
Cottage Point.
Cottage Point (access via Shuttle)
Located on the Ware River in Ware Neck, the property includes “The Studio” and the main house and garage. “The Studio” was constructed in 1998 and was used as a weekend retreat from Washington, D.C. until the main house followed in 2005. The five-and-a-half-acre property was part of a 1642 land grant to Thomas Curtis and belonged to the Lowland Cottage tract until 1972, when Mrs. Grant inherited it from her father. Lowland Cottage was owned by Dr. William Taliaferro of Churchill and his descendants for six generations. With its setting on Cottage Point, the house was sited by the Grants to take full advantage of both upriver and downriver views of the Ware River. A spacious riverside porch is the most noticeable feature. The interior contains many artworks by Mrs. Grant’s grandmother, Harriotte Taliaferro Montague, and other objects originally from Lowland Cottage, with all their many stories. “Hallie” Montague studied painting in Europe (at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts) for five years, and then spent one more year in Paris (1897-1903). The Studio at Cottage Point houses artworks by Mrs. Grant herself and a number of her artist friends. Mr. and Mrs. Willard S. Grant, owners.
DUNHAM MASSIE (7420 Dunham Massie Lane).
Dunham Massie (7420 Dunham Massie Lane, Ware Neck, VA)
An ancient red oak and an American flag greet visitors to Dunham Massie Farm. The welcoming avenue of willow oaks leads past wildflower meadows and a pond created for wildlife. This warm and inviting home was built in 1845 on a picturesque peninsula on the North River. General William Booth Taliaferro, Gloucester’s highest-ranking officer in the Civil War, lived in this house and raised a large family here. The present owners, only the fifth family to have owned Dunham Massie, purchased the property in 1986. The interior and gardens are furnished with a cozy mix of rustic antiques, family pieces, and a unique and whimsical collection of folk art and memorabilia reflecting the owners’ love of animals. The 50-acre farm incorporates lawns, an eco-friendly shoreline restoration and several colorful cottage gardens tucked around the house. Its many outbuildings include a tiny two-story cottage, a sleeping porch at the river’s edge, a smokehouse, a garden shed, an outhouse and a corn crib. Dunham Massie’s gardens are popular with visitors and include shade and sun gardens, a kitchen herb garden, a meditation garden and a woodland path leading to a secret garden. Mr. and Mrs. Dean Williams, owners.
Dunham Massie.
TOUR Information
Headquarters: Ware Episcopal Church, 7825 John Clayton Memorial Highway, Gloucester. Tickets and maps available on tour day.
Lunch: Pre-ordered box lunches will be available for $12 from 11 am to 2 pm at Nuttall’s Country Store, 6495 Ware Neck Road, Ware Neck. For more information, call (804) 693-3067, or email nuttallstore@gmail.com. Good Life Kitchen is providing lunch at Brent & Becky’s Bulbs, 7900 Daffodil Lane, Gloucester, from 11 am to 2 pm.
Tickets: $30 in advance; $35 on day of tour. By April 9, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope with a check payable to GCG c/o Margaret Singleton, PO Box 1388, Gloucester, VA 23061. For more information visit the website www.vagardenweek.org or call Jane Worthington at (804) 815-5057.