Rosewell Ruins

In Gloucester County Virginia. One of the finest homes built in the American colonies, Rosewell, a plantation of over 3,000 acres.  Tobacco and grain were grown.  Sits on the banks of the York River.  For more than a hundred years it was home to a branch of the Page family, one of the first families of Virginia.   33 rooms and 17 fireplaces.  

12,000 square foot mansion double the size of Governors palace in Williamsburg. 

The home originally looked like this below with a lead flat roof.

 We took in a video and listened to some history of the mansion before we went to the area of the ruins. 

Virginias 13th Governor was born at Rosewell.  Governor John Page. 

He graduated from the college of William and Mary in 1763. A classmate and close friend of Thomas Jefferson. On one of Jeffersons visits to Rosewell he wrote the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence in what was the blue room on northeast corner of second story of the home. 

Upper level of  home had views of creeks and York River. 

Home went through many renovations through the years by different owners

A hip roof replaced the original 

you should be able to click on picture to enlarge

Pottery found on one of the digs on the property

Fire swept through the home in 1916 

It may have started I read from an ember that fell from a fireplace and smoldered in a rug 

Everything in the home was reduced to ashes. 

 

Coming into view.  

I saw this skeleton of a home that once was, surrounded by trees and forest.

Sort of an eerie feeling at first. Ghostly.

I hope you can read the plaques that obviously need to be replaced as the weather has faded the words.

Usually clicking twice works.  Well for me anyway. 

No plans for the house survive and it fits no plans in architectural pattern books of the 18th century

17 fireplaces.   Foundation walls are 3 and 1/2 feet thick. 

steps crumbling

 Walk to Icehouse

Icehouse.  Someone said there was a little snake crawling around in it, so I turned around and went back.

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Happy Thursday

Looking out my window this morning and seeing the zinnias at the lamp post are still blooming and looking pretty.  

Morning glories still growing strong and this one a volunteer growing in my pot with a boxwood and snapdragon.  I pushed it close to the sliding door so it could run up the side.  I don't like things growing for long on the walls of my house, but this won't last long and it's pretty. 

Got a few tomatoes and snap beans canned.

a few jars of tomatoes

Raspberry bread (more like a cake to me) right out of the oven.

flour, baking powder, sour cream, butter. I whipped the eggs and that is why it is probably more like a cake.

Vanilla and little cinnamon.

frozen raspberries mixed with little flour and mixed in.  

I mixed confectioners' sugar, heavy cream and butter. 

drizzled over cake or bread.

I didn't have real butter to mix with my flour along with other ingredients, so I used a stick of imperial margarine and Sauers butter flavor extract.  I usually like butter better but didn't have it.  

O.k. next post will be some decorating or spreading a little autumnal color around the house. I don't like to overdo it.  Little touches here and there.  Well sometimes it balloons, will see what kind of mood I get in. 

I started with some leaf garland.  

O.k. leaf garland and now on to the rest

Have a great day! 

Betsy

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