GLOUCESTER — The beauty and history of Gloucester County abound in its rivers and exquisite shoreline homes and Historic Garden Week in Gloucester includes access to three amazing waterfront properties and the Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester.
Returning Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. visitors will enjoy the warmth and tradition of two homes along the North River — Exchange (early 1700s) and Blythelea — as they walk between the grounds taking in the views and gardens. A third home, Holly Knoll, was built in grand Georgian style on the York River for the second president of the Tuskegee Institute, Robert Moton. It was designed as a place to gather, mentor, and support national civil rights leaders.
Presented by the Garden Club of Gloucester and Mathews, Historic Garden Week is the only statewide house and garden tour in the nation and is organized by the Garden Club of Virginia. It offers visitors a chance to tour inspired homes and private landscapes, public gardens and historic sites across Virginia.
In addition, more than 1,000 world-class floral arrangements adorn the houses.
“Gloucester is a place of magical beauty with our fabulous shorelines and glorious old houses. And, you only ever get to see these treasures during something like Historic Garden Week, because none of the homes are visible from public roads,” stated Durfee Betts, Marketing for the Garden Club of Gloucester.
Blythelea (located at Hickston Lane, Gloucester)
Blythelea, meaning pleasant meadow, sits on a peninsula between Toddsbury and Elmington Creeks, facing the North River. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the property was part of Toddsbury and then Exchange. The home was constructed in 1947, but earlier structures on the property included the farrier shop for Exchange and, according to local lore, 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.
Mature trees, landscaping and lawns surround the home, with perennials and bulbs bringing color to the gardens including spring blooming azaleas, camellias, and several varieties of peonies.
At one time, the property was part of a daffodil farm. Many of those daffodils, some of which are cultivars registered in the 1900s, remain on the property, transplanted into the gardens that surround the home today. Open for the first time.
Owned by Katherine and Ronald Haggerty.
Exchange (located at Hickston Lane, Gloucester)
Exchange has been lived in and loved by more than twenty families since it was built in the early 18th century. Situated perpendicularly to the river, the house is two and a 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 are beautifully proportioned. The woodwork includes crown molding and chair rails. The owners’ collection of inherited and collected furniture complements the original style of the home.
Outside, the courtyard area includes a charming garçonnière and a smokehouse, both among the earliest structures on the property and connected by a carport in 1941. Mature boxwoods and trees are the backdrop for the gardens including a cottage garden containing historic daffodils, daylilies, and a variety of historic perennials. A shade garden under an enormous walnut tree by the kitchen wing includes hellebores and another garden includes over 400 varieties of daffodils.
Owned by Genie and Chris Applegate.
Holly Knoll (located at 3201 Leadership Drive, Gloucester)
Steeped in history, Holly Knoll was built in 1935 as the retirement home of Robert Russa Moton, the second president of the Tuskegee Institute, as a place where Moton could meet with, mentor, and support leaders as they worked toward racial equality.
Following Moton’s death in 1940, his son-in-law, 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 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.
A National Historic Landmark designation it now operates as the Gloucester Institute, carrying on Moton’s lifelong commitment to resolve issues in education and civil rights by training tomorrow’s African American leaders.
Complimentary refreshments will be served at Holly Knoll from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Fine Arts Museum of 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.
“Virginia is graced with important historic properties and the monies from each tour are used statewide to preserve these public landscapes. Recent examples of properties in the immediate area that have received funds include the Reveley Garden at William and Mary and Maymount’s elm allée.” Betts said, “The proceeds also fund research fellowships to graduate students in historical landscape architecture.”
Tour tickets, $50 in advance and $60 day of tour, are available at vagardenweek.org
