Department of Historic Resources Preliminary Information Form 1 Rev. January 2017

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION FORM (PIF) for INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES

DHR No. (to be completed by DHR staff) ___041-0048_______ Purpose of Evaluation

Please use the following space to explain briefly why you are seeking an evaluation of this property. Clarkton was an influential plantation in antebellum Halifax County that has not received the attention it deserves. It retains its original grounds and out buildings, and represents a unique contribution to the county and state. We feel its restoration will provide insight into the times and attitudes of nineteenth century Virginia, offering visual and documentary evidence of life in Halifax County. Are you interested in applying for State and/or Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits? Yes _X____ No _____

Are you interested in receiving more information about DHR’s easement program? Yes _____ No __X___ 1. General Property Information

Property name: _ Clarkton (Rosebank)_____________________________________________ Property address: __1216 Hog Wallow Rd.__________________________________________

City or Town: _Nathalie, Virginia_______________ Zip code: ___24577________________

Name of the Independent City or County where the property is located: __Halifax County_______

Category of Property (choose only one of the following): Building _X___ Site _____ Structure _____ Object _____

2. Physical Aspects

Acreage: _____50 acres____________________________

Setting (choose only one of the following): Urban _____ Suburban _____ Town _____ Village _____ Hamlet _____ Rural___X__

Briefly describe the property’s overall setting, including any notable landscape features:

    The manor house stands facing west atop a promontory that rises .75 mile from the Staunton River due east, approximately 5 miles southeast of Brookneal.  The manor house is flanked by 13 nineteenth century outbuildings that supported the plantation: pump house, smoke house, dairy, ash house, stable/carriage house, chicken house, storage building, old carriage house, 3 log buildings (for fowls of some kind), a hot house, and 2 storage barns. There is also a more recent 2‐bay garage (c.1940). The lawn in front of the house is ornamented with a grove of large osage orange, oak, elm, cedar, magnolia, and holly trees spaced around a central English boxwood alley, and encompassed by a large circle drive marked by large American boxwoods. 

Department of Historic Resources Preliminary Information Form 2 Rev. January 2017

3. Architectural Description

Architectural Style(s): ___Greek Revival style______________________________________________ If the property was designed by an architect, landscape architect, engineer, or other professional, please list here: ______attributed to Dabney Cosby, Jr., builder and architect_________________________________ If the builder is known, please list here: __attributed to Dabney Cosby, Jr._________________ Date of construction (can be approximate): ___c. 1845_____________________________ Narrative Description: In the space below, briefly describe the general characteristics of the entire property, such as its current use (and historic use if different), as well as the primary building or structure on the property (such as a house, store, mill, factory, depot, bridge, etc.). Include the architectural style, materials and method(s) of construction, physical appearance and condition (exterior and interior), and any additions, remodelings, or other alterations.

The 12‐room mansion has remained a private home since its construction c.1845.  The original 6,000 ac. Plantation, one of the largest bright leaf tobacco farms in Halifax County, also boasted a railway station, “Clarkton” (1889), a post office, church, and small village by the same name. Nearby was the Clarkton Bridge (now demolished) that connected Halifax County to Charlotte County.     The 2.5‐story house itself was built in the Greek Revival Style c. 1845, and is attributed to builder/architect Dabney Cosby Jr., who lived at “Woodside” in Halifax. Built of brick made on the property, the main house was stuccoed and etched to simulate large granite blocks, a trademark of Dabney Cosby. The roof is covered in slate shingles. The interior features plaster‐over‐brick walls, 9‐over‐9 pane windows, pine floors, doors, and trim, and an exceptional plaster ceiling medallion in the living room (possibly attributed to Albert or Osborne, plasterer‐slaves of Dabney Cosby Sr.). The mantels and door/window casings are unornamented, typical of the Greek Revival style. The original L‐shaped floor‐plan was modified in 1920 to create a rectangular structure, bringing plumbing into the home with a bath/bedroom combination added to the NE corner of each floor. The south side entrance staircase in the original home was moved to the back hall in the new addition, and except for a bookcase added in the drawing room, the remainder of the original house remained largely unaltered. An open veranda was added along the back of the addition, and a modest kitchen/pantry, with a covered back porch was added behind the dining room to complete the renovation. Only 3 mantels in the original house have been replaced with period mantels due to theft (probably mid‐20th c.). All doors, hardware, trim, and flooring are in remarkably good condition, with only one coat of paint over the original wall and trim surfaces. The exterior stucco has been repaired and etched in recent years, consistent with the original design, but the windows should be reglazed and painted. 

Department of Historic Resources Preliminary Information Form 3 Rev. January 2017

Briefly describe any outbuildings or secondary resources (such as barns, sheds, dam and mill pond, storage tanks, scales, railroad spurs, etc.), including their condition and their estimated construction dates.

    The outbuildings. 

1. Outdoor kitchen/laundry room; brick structure, slate roof, central fireplace, c.1845, fair/good condition. 2. Pump House, frame structure (stuccoed), slate roof, deep basement, c. 1845, fair condition. 3. Dairy, brick structure with square brick columns in front, tin roof, evidence of stucco and etching on exterior walls,  c, 1845, back wall collapsed, but structure still standing, poor condition. 4. Ash house, brick structure with tin roof, some hand hewn rafters, c. 1845 or before, fair condition. 5. Stable/carriage house, frame structure with tin roof, 19th c., poor condition (tree fell on portion). 6. Smokehouse, post and beam construction, wood siding, c. 1845 or before,  wire mesh covering inside, fair condition. 7. Frame storage room with attached chicken coop and lot c.19th c., pole roosts inside with chicken wire lot attached, fair condition. 8. Storage building with double doors and floor level with ground, (post and beam construction) wood siding outside, pre‐1845, possibly an earlier carriage house.  9.  A‐C. 3 log structures with small square doors, no windows or openings. Unknown date, c. 19th c.,  wire mesh covering inside walls, but roosting poles the length of building possibly used for fowl of some kind, one in fair condition, other 2 in good condition. 10. Large 2 story barn with log structure for main part and sheds off each side, roof collapsed in middle, (called tractor shed in earlier photos), 19th c., poor condition. 11. Storage barn with double doors 2’ off ground (loading dock),  c. 19th c. frame construction, tin roof, no windows, fair condition. 12. Double garage, early c. 20th c. cinder block knee wall with frame construction over blocks, probably added around time of house renovations or after, good condition. 13. Flower House (hot house), stone construction with 15’ deep basement with tin shed roof,  bank of windows and door facing E, 19th c. construction, fair condition. 

 (There are no apparent domestic houses (slave quarters) in the vicinity of the main house, but some  recollections by local inhabitants place several slave houses along service entrance on the right side of the map. Excavations may uncover foundations, etc. as research continues.  At least 3 of 6 brick 2‐story houses, built before the civil war for sharecroppers and families (e.g. ex‐slaves), scattered over the large original acreage, still remain intact.)   

Department of Historic Resources Preliminary Information Form 4 Rev. January 2017

4. Property’s History and Significance

In the space below, briefly describe the history of the property, such as significant events, persons, and/or families associated with the property. Please list all sources of information used to research the history of the property. (It is not necessary to attach lengthy articles or family genealogies to this form.) If the property is important for its architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, or other aspects of design, please include a brief explanation of this aspect.

Clarkton is a fine example of Greek Revival architecture, popular in 1840’s‐1850’s, with at least 15 unaltered historic outbuildings. Two of the outbuildings are post‐and‐beam construction, and may even pre‐date the existing house. Attributed to the builder, Dabney Cosby (c.1845), the manor house features approximately 80% of its original floor plan and surfaces from the 19th century. A particularly fine ceiling medallion in the living room may be attributable to Albert, Dabney Cosby’s plasterer (slave), who was commended by Cosby in an 1846 letter to the president of UNC for his plastering and “roughcoating” technique of the highest quality. Remnants of the original stucco have been uncovered in the added downstairs bedroom wall that demonstrate his skill.        Although research is still ongoing, it appears that Dabney Cosby and his son, Dabney Jr., designed and built at least six large homes and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Halifax, Virginia during the 1840’s. References to St. John’s and its Rectory in Cosby’s account book link the Cosby’s to area in 1841‐1845. Woodside (1837), the house that Dabney Cosby Sr. built for his family (and after 1839 occupied by Dabney Jr.’s family) was constructed on Mountain Road in Halifax. Other houses in the area attributed to Cosby Jr. are Magnolia Hill (1840), Grand Oaks (1840), Creekside (1841), St. John’s Rectory (1841), Springfield (1843), and St. John’s Episcopal Church (1844). Charles Clark, owner of the Rosebank estate and vestryman with Dabney Jr. at St. John’s, is reported to have commissioned Cosby Jr., along with the workman (slaves and freemen) of Dabney Sr., to complete the construction of Clarkton by 1845. The design, workmanship, roughcoating (stucco), and plastering at Clarkton, typical Cosby trademarks, represent a product that was completed by a skilled and efficient crew. It is unlikely that any other builder in this area during the 1840’s fulfilled the demands of such a large project with the unique skills required other than Dabney Cosby and his workmen. The connection of Clark to Cosby through associations at St. John’s also makes the argument for Cosby even more plausible. Charles Clark and his wife each contributed ($100 from Eliza, $75 from Charles) to the building of St. Johns’, so they were well aware of Cosby’s work.     An important social significance of Clarkton comes by way of its owner, Charles Clark, who as an outspoken advocate for the abolition of slavery, prepared to free his slaves in the mid‐1850’s, transitioning them to sharecroppers by providing them with 6 brick 2‐story homes on the plantation. Most other plantation owners in Halifax County, among them Senator James C. Bruce (Berry Hill), disagreed with Charles on this important matter. Although Charles died in 1859, his legacy was perpetuated by his widow, Eliza, and son, Thomas, in the building of many more houses for the workers and their families. By 1938, the year the Clarks hosted the Virginia Tobacco Festival at Clarkton, there were 31 families that lived on the estate. The Clark family, even to the last heir, demonstrated its care for the community and families on the farm through medical funding, college scholarships, and land distribution to the tenants.   Sources Bullock, Marshal, Catherine W. Bishir. “Albert and Osborne (fl.1820’s‐1850’s.”          https.ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/P000019, 2009. Bullock, Marshal, Catherine W. Bishir. “Dabney Cosby (1779‐1862).”      https.ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/P000019, 2009. “Clarkton Plantation” http://www.oldhalifax.com/county/ClarktonPlantation.htm. Cosby, Dabney.  Account Book 1826‐1854, Virginia Museum of History and Culture, Mss5:3 C8202:1. Little‐Stokes, Ruth. “Woodside” http://www.oldhalifax.com/county/HalifaxWalkingTourWoodside.htm. March, 1974.    (Because of renovations in the Halifax County Courthouse, some documents are currently unavailable to the public, but will be consulted at the earliest opportunity.) 

5. Property Ownership (Check as many categories as apply):

Private: X Public\Local Public\State __ Public\Federal __

Current Legal Owner( s) of the Property (If the property has more than one owner, please list each below or on an additional sheet.) name/ title: Timothy P Duncan and Linda T. Daniel wife

organization: ---------------------------street & number: 1147 Daniels Trail (PO Box 971 city or town: _.:..H::.:a=lif:=ax==------------ state: --'-V..:cA-=------- zip code:

24558 e-mail: tduncan@halifax.k12.va.us 7767

telephone: 434 222-

Legal Owner's Signature:,,~~ P ~ (;_If,~__.

10/10/2019 ~ Date:

In the event of corporate ownership you must provide the name and title of the appropriate contact person.

Contact person: ----------------------------Daytime Telephone:

Applicant Information (Individual completing form if other than legal owner of property) name/title: (same as above)

organization: ---------------------------street & number:

city or town: ------------ state: ------ zip code: -----e-mail: --------------- telephone: ------------

6. Notification In some circumstances, it may be necessary for D HR to confer with or notify local officials of proposed listings of properties within their jurisdiction. In the following space, please provide the contact information for the local County Administrator or City Manager. name/title: Scott R. Simpson, County Administrator locality: Halifax County street & number: 1030 Mary Bethune Street LL1 city or town: __ H=a=li=fa=x=---------- state:

24558 telephone: 434 476-3300

Department of Historic Resources

___ V..c....cc..Ac;...... ___ zip code:

Preliminary Information Form 9 Rev. January 2017

Staunton River Tour Halifax County, Virginia

Clarkton Plantation Known as "Rosebank", "Hoveloke", "Clarkton" and now "Ardross".

A number of great plantations with their beautiful ante-bellum plantation homes were situated along the StauntonRiver in the last century. Some of them have gone with the passing of time, some are deserted and empty, andsome still stand as historic examples of gracious living in a bygone era.

One of the handsomest of the old mansion-houses in this area is Clarkton, plantation home of the Clark family, onthe crest of a ridge on the Halifax side of the river five miles southeast of Brookneal.

Originally the property was owned by Thomas Yuille. In his willdated April 24, 1792, he willed his son Thomas Yuille, Jr. hismanor house called "Rosebank", with life rent for his wife,Sarah.

In 1841 the manor house and over 2000 acres came into thehands of the Clark family in a conveyance from AlexanderYuille to Charles Clark for the amount of $25,000.00. It hasbeen stated that this high amount indicates that a "building ofsome dignity and size must have been on the property." It isnot known whether the enlarged house was completed by theyear of 1845, the year sometimes given as the date for thehouse.

Charles Clark hired Howard Cosby the architect responsible for so many fine Halifax buildings of the era. Cosby'sdistinguishing mark of etching lines in the stucco, imitating cut stone, is still evident in parts of the building. Clarkrenamed his estate "Hoveloak."

From information contained in an old leather-bound account book at Clarkton, it was learned that Colonel Jonathan

Old Kitchen

Dairy & Ash House

Well & Smoke Houses

Carriage House

Clark, squire of Old Chester, near Randolph on the Halifaxside of the river, willed that a river plantation be bought forCharles Adolphus, youngest of his second set of children.

Charles Clark was educated at the University of Virginia andwas considered a brilliant student. He was an ardent readerof the classics and a close observer of the opinions of thelearned men of his time. While still very young, he contracteda respiratory ailment, which caused him to spend winters in awarm climate of the south and the West Indies.

He married Eliza Ann Spraggins, daughter of Capt. ThomasLanier Spraggins of Halifax County, an officer of the War of1812 and a relative of Sidney Lanier, the poet.

While in Florida, Charles Clark heard the renowned abolitionist, Henry WardBeecher speak, and what he heard, he pondered. When he returned home, heentertained at a large family dinner, as was his custom after each prolongedtrip. To his guests, he proclaimed his belief that the end of slavery was near,and that he intended to prepare his plantation for a tenant system which wouldfollow. Clark's relatives and neighbors, unable to foresee the great civil warand vast change that was soon to take place, thought he was losing his mind.Clark went ahead with his plans, and utilizing slave labor, built six comfortabletwo-storied brick houses in which tenants were to live and maintain theplantation and become sharecroppers. Several of the houses still survive.

Charles Clark, only 39 years old, died twoyears before the Civil War. His wife ran theplantation as he had predicted, withtenants who lived in the houses alreadyprepared for them. His son, Thomas Clark,married Grace Willis Thompson from aprominent New Orleans family. Shearrived with several railroad carloads offine antique furniture from New Orleansmaking the manor house a showplace forthe area.

Squire Tom, as he was known, managed his plantation well. To his 5,600 acre estate, he added land on both sidesof the Staunton River, and his nearly 6,000 acre plantation became one of the largest bright leaf tobacco farms inHalifax County. Tall corn grew in its river lowlands, cattle fattened on its grassy slopes and sheep grazed on themeadow land.

When the Lynchburg and Durham Railroad was built in 1889, Tom Clark gavethe right-of-way through his property and an abundant water supply for thelocomotives in return for establishing a station and express office on hisplantation. A post office was located there, and a rural delivery route from itserved a large area of Halifax County. "Hoveloak" became known as "Clarkton"from the railroad station and the tiny village that sprung up around it.

Tom Clark died in 1919, once more leaving a widow to run the plantation.Grace Clark lived for a number of years afterwards, and was very active inchurch and community affairs. She wasauthorized by Bishop Randolph of theEpiscopal Church to collect donations tobuild a church, and it was largely throughher influence that St. Thomas EpiscopalChurch was established in the village ofClarkton. She also built a communityhouse next to the church.

A daughter, Miss Elise Clark, studied artand shared a studio in Washington DC.Returning to Clarkton, she taught puppet-making to the children of the community. Under her direction, they builtstage settings and produced puppet shows in the area. The other daughter, Anita Clark married a Mr. White and

eventually returned with him to her old home. Through the church and community work, the Clarks gave theneighboring rural farm families opportunities for recreation and advancement they might never have had withouttheir leadership.

When diesel locomotives replaced steam on the railroads, the water tank at Clarkton station was dismantled and inthe 1990s the station itself was taken down and recycled to enlarge a neighboring mobile home. The post officeand mail route were transferred to Nathalie, several miles away, and the store was abandoned. Now a visitor to theonce thriving village by the tracks hears only the hum of the bees from the hives near the church or the tinkle of acowbell out in the river pasture land.

Having land on both sides of the river, Clarkton Plantation bears at least one resemblance to Samuel Pannill'sGreen Hill estate, the Stanton River flows through, not by, the plantation. In the great flood of August, 1940, theriver rose to a depth of six feet in the Clarkton station, half a mile away.

Anita Clark White, the last of the Clarks, died in 1970. In order to finance the scholarships set up in her will, thevast estate was divided into 20 parcels and sold at auction, setting a record for real estate transactions in thecounty. The manor house, with 100 acres was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Vern Holman of Portsmouth, Va.. In 1984this property was purchased from the Holmans by Mr. and Mrs. Reid F. Ross as their primary residence. The estatehas been known by several names, it is now called by the Gaelic name ARDROSS, or high promontory. Mr. Clarknever called it Clarkton.

The manor house has many dependencies including the old kitchen, dairy, icehouse, stable, carriage house,smoke house, well house, and one of the only two known ash houses still standing in the county. The other is atBerryhill Plantation.

The plantation is unique in that Thomas Clark foresaw the great changes coming to the south and prepared forthem.

The Men From Outer Space

It was near Clarkton that the section crew of Capt. H. C. Mustain was working on the railroad many years agowhen they had visitors from outer space. (In those days railroad engineers, conductors and section foremen werecalled "captain".) The men were so intent on their work on the track that they did not see the silent thing thathovered above them, until a strange voice called,"Hello down there! Where are we?"

The startled section crew looked up to see a balloon drifting overhead. Now Capt. Mustain was no johnny-come-lately, and he wasn't about to be taken in by any smartalecs from outer space. So he shouted back, "It looks to melike you're up there in that little basket."

The balloon men persisted: "I mean where are we on the map? What railroad is that?"

Capt. Mustain replied that it was the L. & D., and the men in the balloon consulted their map, but on the map it waslabeled the Norfolk & Western. So they tried again, "What river is that over there?" Told that it was the Staunton,they again consulted their map, but the river was designated the Roanoke. The balloon men gave up.

So Capt. Mustain won his bout with the men from outer space. He agreed with them that they couldn't be loster,and he and his men helped them haul down their balloon. They took the airmen on their motor car and broughtthem to Brookneal, where the flyboys made arrangements to have their balloon -and themselves-shipped back toLangley Field.

Sources include the late Kenneth Cook, a young historian, Mrs. Pocahontas Edmunds, Herman Ginther's book"Captain Staunton's River" with permission from the author, additional information from the present owners.

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