David Griffith and his dog, Halo, in the front yard of the Lemoine-Griffith House. Photo by Dianne Saison.
When David Griffith began his search for property where he could store his growing menagerie of antiques and collectibles, he expected something simple. Instead Griffith ended up with an unforgettable house that has led him on a historical adventure — inspiring new friendships, unearthing old secrets and bringing a community together.
Griffith’s journey with the historic home began in 2011, when he purchased the house at auction, nearly sight unseen. Located at the corner of Mulberry Rd. and Route 3 in Emmerton, the large, white-frame Victorian farmhouse had lain dormant for years, falling into disrepair.
“I liked the house immediately, but it was in bad shape and it turned out that there was a whole lot more work than I thought there would be,” Griffith said.
Oscar M Lemoine, 1841-1897, circa 1875. He was the husband of Maria Braxton Lemoine and lived in the house until his death in 1897. Photo courtesy of David Griffith.
After resurrecting the shallow well on the property, Griffith turned on the water and it was an instant flood — with leaks pouring from the ceilings, door jams and just about everywhere in the house. After taking out the old water heating system and putting in new heat pumps, Griffith started to clear an upstairs bedroom, where he would stay while he worked on the rest of the expansive house.
The first night Griffith slept in the room, he began to notice the unexplained phenomenon that is now an accepted part of the home’s personality. It started small, according to Griffith, with a tape measurer flying off a sill. Then Griffith noticed his dog, Halo, would neither go upstairs to the third floor nor downstairs to the basement. Halo also began barking at rooms, and the black labrador was rarely known to bark. Then, electronics Griffith brought into the house began to malfunction, doors would inexplicably open or close and motion sensors would go off with nobody in the room.
Perhaps the most intriguing happening, on one clear day Griffith was photographing the outside of the house for his records. When reviewing the film, he noticed the distinct image of a tall man looking out one of the ground floor windows. There was not a living soul inside the house at the time.
The incidents, which Griffith describes as “overwhelming” at first, piqued his interest into the grand home’s history. Recalling his first visit from Richard Thomas, a local businessman, farmer and politician, Griffith was amazed when Thomas told him that the house he had bought was known as the Lemoine-Griffith house. It was a quirk of fate, and although Griffith had no relation to the original owners of the house, he had a good place to start his research.
Ben Griffith, (L-R) Emma Griffith, Esther Lemoine, Katherine Griffith and Stage Lemoine Griffith in a 1905 family photograph. Photo courtesy of David Griffith.
Enlisting a friend from Heathsville to help with research and genealogy, Griffith found that the house not only had strong ties to many prominent local families, but also that one of its early residents, Emma Lemoine, is the namesake behind the town of Emmerton, of which the house is a focal gem.
The site where the current home sits was once part of a much larger tract, totaling 80 acres. The first site included a general store and post office where the current Jerusalem Baptist Church stands, as well as a smaller, two-story house with just a pair of rooms on each floor.
Early records show that The Reverend Thomas Corbin Braxton first came to the property in 1832 after a rift in the congregation at Farnham Church, where he was a pastor. Braxton, whose grandfather was Carter Braxton, one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, shepherded 143 parishioners to the site and a new church was erected. The congregation grew so quickly that by 1840 they had to build a larger facility down the road. By 1868, the general store had become a staple to the community and John Staige Braxton, the Reverend’s son, purchased the entire property.
In 1876, Braxton’s daughter, Maria, married Oscar M. Lemoine, a returned Confederate soldier, businessman, boarder at the family home, and the son of a prominent local merchant. Oscar’s unmarried younger sister Emma, of Emmerton fame, lived with the family at the home and would remain there for her entire life, even after Oscar’s sudden death at age 56 in 1897.
A sky view picture of the Lemoine-Griffith House. Photo courtesy of David Griffith.
In 1887, the house was significantly expanded to include spacious, high-ceilinged new sitting rooms, bedrooms and reception areas. In 1899, Lemoine’s daughter, Olivia Staige, started a new era in the house after marrying Benjamin Griffith, who (along with his brother) had recently taken over the general store. In addition to Griffith’s Store, the brothers ran a local tomato cannery, as well as a Plymouth, Chevrolet and DeSoto car dealership.
Griffith and Lemoine had two daughters. The eldest, Katherine, married William Tayloe Murphy, Sr., in 1923. Murphy was a direct descendent of William Tayloe II, builder of historic Mount Airy in Warsaw. In 1928, the younger sibling, Emma, married Walter Vance Hall, Sr.
After working for his father-in-law at the auto dealership, Murphy, Sr., went on to become the third President of Northern Neck State Bank in Warsaw, as well as a Virginia delegate and State Treasurer.
After Benjamin’s death in 1935, Staige moved to Warsaw and the Lemoine-Griffith house was purchased by the Clark family, who lived there until 1975. After the Featheralls, Runningers, and others, briefly called the house home, it fell vacant — where it lay quietly deteriorating until its inevitable rescue by Griffith.
Griffith’s foray into the home’s history also led him to some grim discoveries, painting a startling backdrop which could be the impetus behind the unexplained activity in the house. “A lot of people have died here,” Griffith said, going on to explain that there were multiple grave sites on the location, including those of Oscar Lemoine, Maria Braxton, their son Randolph, and other family members. In addition, parishioners are possibly still buried in the land from when the old church was located in the front yard.
Illness was also no stranger to the family, who built a sunroom on stilts and telephone poles on the second floor when Benjamin Griffith was diagnosed with tuberculosis, to which he would eventually succumb.
In addition, there have been two suicides on the property. Griffith found that a gun discovered by a previous occupant told its own strange tale. The gun was found buried in a can in the backyard, and the firearm’s serial numbers date back to the year of one of the alleged suicides. Why bury the gun in a can? No one lived to tell that tale.
Griffith’s inquiry into the house has led him to more than just its intriguing history, his research has also paved the way for some of the most meaningful friendships of his life. Griffith discovered that Emma and Walter Vance Hall’s son, who was born in the house and lived there until the age of six, still lives in the region. The younger Vance Hall and Griffith became fast friends, with Hall spending countless hours discovering and sharing family photographs and records. Hall, who loves the house and its roots deeply, had arranged for those family members still buried on the property to be resettled at the Farnham Church, years before Griffith took over the property.
In a rare peek at history, Hall shared his grandmother Staige’s diary, which shed light on much of the daily functions at the house, including the “calamity” of 1925, when over 500 gallons of water flooded the house after the bottom of a cistern on the upper floor dropped out. “Such a mess I never want to see again,” Staige wrote. “Everything drenched — some of the dining room plaster fell!”
Vance also found the original china sets that the family had used a century ago for dinner service, gifting them to Griffith, who proudly displays them. In addition, Griffith became close friends with the Clarks, who generously shared their stories of love, laughter and family in the historic home.
The entranceway of the Lemon-Griffith House. Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison.
Since purchasing the home, Griffith, an accomplished electronics designer and collector of “all things old,” has done the bulk of renovation and preservation on his own. From wainscoting to paint, drywall and flooring, Griffith has resurrected the grand home. He upcycled wood from The Middleton House, which was just two doors down and had been abandoned after a house fire in 2000. The rescued paneling matches and compliments the home’s existing walls and ceilings in both the entrance hall and the sitting room to the right of the entrance. The kitchen boasts modern appliances, while still favoring the Victorian beauty of the original architecture.
Griffith tastefully furnished and decorated the front sitting room with more period antiques, as well as many other finds that he has accumulated along the way. The entrance hall is filled with period pictures of past residents in their heyday, and on display are some of the more interesting items that Griffith has discovered, including the aforementioned mysterious buried gun. Upstairs, the large, bright bedrooms retain their airy feel, keeping in line with nearly all the 18x18, high-ceilinged rooms in the house. The stunning view from the unusual third-floor central tower is both dizzying and expansive, showcasing the views of the county beautifully. Griffith has also lovingly brought the front porch, which was destroyed during a snowstorm in the 1980s, back to its stunning glory.
In 2015, Griffith and his wife, Darlene, hosted an open house for the community to rediscover the Lemoine-Griffith House. Since then, they have welcomed many curious visitors eager to discover the home’s history.
The front parlor room of the house, decorated with David Griffith’s heirlooms and antiques. Photos courtesy of Dianne Saison.
Although Griffith continues to work on the home, its metamorphosis is nearly complete and he looks forward to enjoying it with friends, family and the community in the future. “There are so many people who have helped expand on the house’s history, and I am grateful for them all,” Griffith said. “This house, the people — this is Emmerton.”
For more information on the Lemoine-Griffith house, contact the Richmond County Museum at www.co.richmond.va.us/museum.htm, or email David Griffith at dwgriffith55@gmail.com.