SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 2025 • 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
The beauty and history of Gloucester County abound in its rivers and exquisite shoreline homes. This tour includes access to three homes, two located along the North River and one along the high banks of the York River and the Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester. Visitors will enjoy the warmth and tradition of Exchange and Blythelea on the North River, as they walk between the grounds, taking in the views and gardens. A third home on the York River, Holly Knoll, carries on the legacy of the second president of the Tuskegee Institute, Dr. Robert Moton, whose lifelong commitment was to resolve issues in education and civil rights.
EXCHANGE
Hickston Lane, Gloucester
Exchange has been lived in and loved by more than twenty families since it was built in the early eighteenth century. Situated perpendicularly to the North River, the house is two and half stories constructed of brick overlaid with cypress beaded boarding, brick ends in Flemish bond, and dormers. On entering, visitors will find themselves in the two-story foyer where the staircase, which is original to the house, leads to the second floor. The ceilings are eleven feet high, and the rooms beautifully proportioned with detailed woodwork. The owners’ collection of inherited and collected furniture complements the original style of the home.
Outside, the courtyard area includes a charming apartment and a smoke house, both among the earliest structures on the property. Mature boxwoods and trees are the backdrop for the gardens. A cottage garden as you approach the front portico contains historic daffodils, daylilies, and a variety of historic perennials. A shade garden under an enormous walnut tree by the kitchen wing includes hellebores. Other beds include over 400 varieties of daffodils with thousands more spread across the property. Genie and Chris Applegate, owners
BLYTHELEA
Hickston Lane, Gloucester
Blythelea, meaning pleasant meadow, sits on a peninsula facing the North River. The home was constructed in 1947, but earlier structures on the property included the farrier shop for Exchange and, according to neighboring landowners, a small house called “Little Exchange.” The spacious entry hall, wallpapered in blue Chinoiserie, sets the tone for the interior with its mix of traditional and transitional styles. Arched openings lead to either end of the house and straight ahead into the living room with the sunroom beyond, offering river views year-round. A massive kitchen renovation in 2022 joined the kitchen and dining room into a large area filled with natural light.
Mature trees, landscaping and lawns surround the home. At one time, the property was part of a daffodil farm and many of those daffodils, some of which are cultivars registered in the 1900s, remain on the property. Spring-blooming azaleas create a colorful border between the house and a pine grove which is planted with George Tabor azaleas and Yuletide and Pink Sasanqua camellias. Several varieties of peonies, including Festiva Maxima and Rivoire were transplanted from the previous owner’s family home in Roanoke. Katherine and Ronald Haggerty, owners
HOLLY KNOLL
3201 Leadership Drive, Gloucester
Steeped in history, Holly Knoll, a National Historic Landmark property, was built in grand Georgian style on the York River for the second president of the Tuskegee Institute, Dr. Robert Moton. It was designed as a place to gather, mentor, and support national civil rights leaders as they worked toward racial equality. Following Dr. Moton’s death in 1940, his son-in-law, Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson, also a former Tuskegee Institute president, inherited the property. He created the Moton Conference Center at Holly Knoll to continue the work of Dr. Moton, welcoming leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr, and John L. Lewis as they collectively fostered strategies for the burgeoning civil rights movement.
In 2005, Kay Coles James purchased Holly Knoll and undertook a full renovation of the house, furnishing it with period-appropriate pieces while maintaining warmth and comfort. The gracious rooms create a peaceful quality throughout, as intended to allow an environment for people to come together to share their hopes, vision, and plans for working together to resolve differences. It now operates as the Gloucester Institute, a training ground for tomorrow’s African American leaders. The Gloucester Institute, owner
FINE ARTS MUSEUM OF GLOUCESTER
6894 Main Street, Gloucester
The Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester’s newest exhibit, Everyday People: Through Freedom’s Lens, An Exhibition of Rare Photographs by Freedom B. Goode, is presented by the Cook Foundation in collaboration with the Fairfield Foundation. It features the photographs of Freedom B. Goode, a local leader and documentarian, and explores the history of civil rights in rural Virginia. Goode’s photographs capture the resilience, courage, and grassroots leadership of Gloucester’s African American citizens as they navigated immense social changes, from segregated schools and businesses to the slow process of integration. He is part of a strong legacy of African American leaders in Gloucester including Thomas Calhoun (TC) Walker, a pioneering African American attorney, Dr. Robert Russa Moton at Holly Knoll, and Irene Morgan, whose refusal to give up her seat on a Greyhound bus led to the United States Supreme Court striking down Virginia’s state law enforcing segregation on interstate buses. Through this exhibit, touring the Woodville School (see Places of Interest) and Holly Knoll, and visiting murals on Historic Main Street celebrating TC Walker and Irene Morgan, visitors can experience Gloucester’s significant history in the Civil Rights movement.
PLACES OF INTEREST
Historic Gloucester Village and Main Street
6509 Main St., Gloucester (Court House Circle) & Main St.
The buildings of the Court Circle at the north end of Gloucester’s Main Street are classic examples of an early Virginia government seat and village. The 1776 Colonial Courthouse is still in use today, and the 1823 Debtor’s Prison is one of only three remaining in the state. In the late 1920s, the newly formed Garden Club of Gloucester advocated and raised funds for the construction of the brick wall that surrounds the Court Circle. Gloucester’s Main Street remains a vibrant village today with homes, shops, restaurants, and art including multiple sculptures and murals celebrating Gloucester’s heritage and culture. gloucestervillage.com
Center for Archaeology, Preservation and Education (C.A.P.E.)
6783 Main Street, Gloucester .C.A.P.E. is the Fairfield Foundation’s education and preservation center for historic sites in the Middle Peninsula region. In 2018, the Fairfield Foundation restored the 1930 Edge Hill Service Station which now serves as its headquarters and anchors the south end of Gloucester’s historic Main Street. Fairfield’s historic sites in Gloucester include Fairfield Archaeology Park, Rosewell Ruins (c. 1725), Timberneck House (c. 1793), and Walter Reed’s Birthplace (c. 1821). Visitors can tour the archaeological collections and exhibits on local excavations and enjoy interpretive signs, restored gas pumps, a large granite map of Gloucester in 1912, and the neighboring T.C. Walker mural outside. fairfieldfoundation.org
Edge Hill House 6805 Main Street, Gloucester. Built around 1750 as a family home on top of Edge Hill, it was moved down the hill to its current location in 1833 and set on a foundation to accommodate a blacksmith shop on the ground level. Subsequently, it housed a carriage shop, then a few small businesses. The Gloucester Woman’s Club purchased the building on nine acres in 1913.
Nuttall Country Store 6495 Ware Neck Road, Gloucester/Ware Neck. Founded in 1877, this general store thrived for generations because of its profitable ties connecting the nearby Hockley Wharf to the steamship lines serving the Chesapeake Bay. A post office was added in the 1880s. Nuttall’s remains in operation as a general store, neighborhood lunch spot, and post office, serving as a strong community presence in Ware Neck. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. nuttallstore.com
Woodville School 4294 George Washington Memorial Highway, Gloucester. The Woodville School, built in 1923 with contributions from Gloucester’s African Community, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and the Gloucester School Board, was one of six Rosenwald schools built in Gloucester for African American children. Now restored, the Woodville School ensures that the history of African American education and the struggle for quality education by Gloucester’s African American community will be remembered
TOUR INFORMATION:
- Details & Info: This tour involves considerable walking. Not suitable for anyone with mobility issues. www.vagardenweek.org/tours/gloucester/,FB - Historic Garden Week in Gloucester VA, IG - @historicgardenweekgloucester or Chairs Linda Farr and Bambi Thompson gloucester@vagardenweek.org
- Ticket Information: $50 pp sold online and in advance only at VAGardenWeek.org. $60 pp day of tour ticket available at VAGardenWeek.org only. Ticket includes access to three properties and the museum.
- Lunch: Box lunches available directly from Nuttall Country Store for 18.00 dollars. Available by pre-order and pre-payment only. Order deadline is April 22, 2025. Contact Nuttall Country Store at nuttallstore@gmail.com or 804-693-3067. Box lunches will be available for pick-up at the Blythelea and Exchange Parking Area.
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES:
- Dan Lonergan, Arborist from Bartlett Tree Experts, will be at Exchange from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to answer questions. Free tree seedlings will also be distributed.
- Master Gardener tours in the gardens at Brent and Becky’s, 7900 Daffodil Lane, Gloucester 804-693-3996 or www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com.
- Refreshments are complimentary and served at Holly Knoll from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.