Greenfield (Fincastle, Virginia)
Greenfield | |
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
Overview from the east | |
| Location | Botetourt Center at Greenfield, U.S. Route 220, Fincastle, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°26′17″N 79°54′50″W / 37.43806°N 79.91389°W |
| Area | 0.86 acres (0.35 ha) |
| Built | c. 1832, c. 1850 |
| NRHP reference No. | 10000792[1] |
| VLR No. | 011-0026 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 28, 2011 |
| Designated VLR | June 17, 2010[2] |
| Removed from NRHP | January 6, 2022 |
Greenfield, also known as Col. William Preston Plantation, Preston House, and Botetourt Center at Greenfield, is a historic plantation site located at Fincastle, Botetourt County, Virginia. The first plantation established by surveyor, militia officer and burgess William Preston (1729-1783) and which used enslaved labor beginning with his purchase of 16 Africans from the ship True Blue on August 28, 1759 in Nanjemoy, Maryland for 752pounds (to avoid a 5% Virginia sales tax), Greenfield became one of Botetourt County's largest plantations, encompassing more than 1,200 acres by the 1770s.[3] In 1774 Col. Preston moved his family to another plantation, Smithfield, and a series of white overseers managed the farm, orchard and distillery at Greenfield.[4]
Because fire had destroyed the plantation house in 1959, and the only remaining historic buildings were kitchen/quarters (c. 1832) and saddlebag slave dwelling (c. 1850), which were moved to the Bowyer-Holladay House nearby, although listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, Greenfield was delisted in January 2022.[1][5]
References
- ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Listings" (PDF). Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 7/05/11 through 7/08/11. National Park Service. September 2, 2011. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
- ^ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ Daniel B. Thorp, In the True Blue's Wake, (University of Virginia Press 2022 ISBN 978-0-8139-4723-5) p. 11
- ^ Michael J. Pulice & John R. Kern (April 2010). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Greenfield" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying five photos
- ^ https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/011-0028/