Black Walnut (Clover, Virginia)

Black Walnut Plantation
Black Walnut Manor House
Black Walnut (Clover, Virginia) is located in Virginia
Black Walnut (Clover, Virginia)
Black Walnut (Clover, Virginia) is located in the United States
Black Walnut (Clover, Virginia)
Location2091 Black Walnut Road, Clover, VA 24534 (VA 600, 850 ft. S of jct. with VA 778, in Halifax County, Virginia)
Coordinates36°51′47″N 78°43′22″W / 36.86306°N 78.72278°W / 36.86306; -78.72278
Area8 acres (3.2 ha)
Built1774 (1774)
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Georgian
NRHP reference No.91001597
VLR No.041-0006
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 29, 1991 [1]
Designated VLRAugust 21, 1991 [1]

Black Walnut is a historic plantation house and farm located near Clover, Halifax County, Virginia. The main house was built in at least three sections beginning about 1774 to 1790. In the 1840s and 1850s, a substantial two-story frame addition was built in two stages parallel to the existing house, along with a connecting hyphen, altogether giving the house an H-shape. The interior features Greek Revival style details.[2]

Also on the property are the contributing brick kitchen, a dairy, a wash-house, two smokehouses, two sheds, a cool-storage building, a privy, a stable, a barn, a slave cabin, a corncrib, two machine sheds, a toolshed, a garage, a late 18th-century schoolhouse, and the family cemetery.[2]

At its peak, Black Walnut Plantation was one of the largest and most successful plantations in Halifax County. The only Civil War battle fought in Halifax County, the Battle of Staunton River Bridge, took place on Black Walnut Plantation in Summer 1864. Confederate troops maintained encampment there during the war alongside up to 800 Confederate slave laborers.[3]

Brick Kitchen, Built ~1800

During the September 1939 National Tobacco Festival, Academy Award Winner Mary Pickford visited Black Walnut as Queen of the festival.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b "Virginia Landmarks Register 041-0006". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Pierce, Diane (June 1991). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: 041-0006 Black Walnut" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-09. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  3. ^ McLaughlin, Tom (20 June 2014). "War Comes to the Plantation". www.SoVaNow.com. The News & Record. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  4. ^ Edmunds, Pocahontas (1978). History of Halifax (1st ed.). pp. 69–71.
  5. ^ Watts, Jakon Hays, Maureen (10 September 2017). "September 1939 | Mary Pickford makes a visit". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2021-01-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)