Haunting: Rosewell Plantation Ruins
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December 2010 |
The extravagant Rosewell mansion ruins rests upon the middle
point of a 3000 acre plantation in Gloucester County, VA. It overlooks the York River and was quoted as
“the largest and finest of American
houses of the colonial period”. The
building was built with red bricks and established between the years
1725-1738. The structure was three stories tall with 17 fireplaces, many rooms,
and a beautiful grand staircase. For more than 100 years, a division of the
Page family called the mansion their home.
During its heyday, slaves worked
the fields producing tobacco and grain. From
the 18th and 19th centuries, and also throughout the duration
of the Civil War, Rosewell was the gathering place for many fancy balls and
celebrations.
In 1916, Rosewell mansion was destroyed by fire which
started in the southwest chimney. It
quickly moved throughout the structure leaving only a skeleton of what used to
be. Many artifacts have been dug up and
being studied by archaeologists. Today,
preserving the ruins continues with no plans of reconstructing the massive
mansion. When visiting Rosewell, you
start at the visitor’s center. There are
exhibits of what was found on the grounds, a short video of its history, and a
gift shop. You pay a small fee which is
totally worth the admission price to see this extraordinary ruin. (Check out their website: www.rosewell.org .)
I just recently visited the ruins, and went crazy taking pictures of this place, because
everywhere I looked was an amazing photo opportunity. I put them together on a video for your
enjoyment.
I love seeing the photos of the way homes looked in their original state and then seeing current images. Just breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to capture the place the way it felt to me. It was amazing!
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