The Dunnington Mansion, also known as Poplar Hill, is located in the Virginia town of Farmville. Yes, it’s not a Facebook game; it’s the county seat of Prince Edward County, which was once Amelia County until February 27, 1752.
The ancient property overlooks the rolling hills of the Manor Golf Club, a lovely golf course with well-kept fairways and extremely inexpensive greens fees of $33 on weekdays. No, that is not a sales pitch. I really should start carrying my clubs with me more often. Though I’m not sure how frequently, if ever, I’ll come across an abandoned house in the middle of a golf course.
Early History (1700s-1826)
While the house as we know it now was built via a series of expansions from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, its history can be traced back to the 1700s, when landowner Richard Woodson bought the site in Prince Edward County. Richard was sometimes referred to as Baron Woodson. He was born in Henrico County, Virginia Colony, around 1695. Woodson would soon develop the Poplar Hill Plantation, at which point he would also build the initial iteration of this mansion, which was only a tiny four-room structure.
After Woodson died in 1774 in Goochland County, Virginia, the property was passed down to his daughter Agnes, who was born on October 4, 1748. She and her husband, Francis Watkins, would subsequently build a finer brick house in place of the previous structure. They finished building the house around the end of the 18th century. Aside from the rebuilding of their mansion, the property saw the construction of various additional structures, including quarters for enslaved African-Americans. According to ancient atlas maps, there were several more structures on the land that were finally removed between 2004 and 2006.
Agnes died in July 1820 at the Poplar Hill farm, and her husband died only 6 years later, in 1826. After their deaths, the property passed to their daughter Frances — one of their six daughters, who would go on to reside there with her husband James Wood.
1826-1880s
The couple would subsequently extend the estate, which had become known as the Wood Plantation house by this point. The property was sold after about 40 years of ownership by the Wood family. Captain John Hughes Knight Junior purchased the home and grounds this time. Colonel John Hughes Knight and Sarah “Sally” Everett Carter raised Knight. On October 12, 1853, he married Cornelia Alice Bland in Richmond’s First Baptist Church, which still exists today. They bought the Poplar Hill property shortly after their marriage and lived there until the late 1880s.
The land was eventually passed down to Knight’s daughter, India Wycliffe Knight, and her husband, tobacco mogul Walter Grey Dunnington. This was a watershed moment in the history of this house, as it was about to undergo the most extensive rebuilding of its life.
Dunnington Builds a Mansion
By 1897, Dunnington had opted to basically reconstruct the entire house around the existing smaller structure. The home’s 8,500 square feet now has 14 rooms after the makeover. The foyer itself was a significant endeavor, and a pricey one at that. The large staircase is decorated with ornate woodwork, which is complemented by a wonderfully built brick fireplace near the front entrance. The outside was created in the Romanesque Revival style, while the inside has a mix of Italianate and Victorian architectural design.
Magnificent Remains
Upon entering the house, I saw the crumbling ruins of the once-luxurious study through a doorway directly to my left. After years of degradation, the floor on one side of the room finally broke way and is now practically inaccessible – at least without some careful planning. Aside from the fireplace, the only thing that remains are few bookshelves, which are now in a less-than-desirable state, dropping farther each year following the slope of the progressively sinking floor.
After passing through the study, I found myself standing among the peeling walls of the formal dining room, where the Dunnington family had entertained many affluent visitors over the years. The two dining room windows, one on either side of the fireplace, reached nearly all the way to the ceiling. Light flowed in through the windows, which were now so thickly coated in cobwebs and dust that they actually filtered and softened the harsh light as it passed through.
Two neighboring parlor sections sit in shambles on the opposite side of the passageway from these two rooms. One room led to the porch on the side of the house, while the other led straight into a stunning area, perhaps one of the mansion’s most prominent architectural elements.Even though the Italianate-style domed glass conservatory was broken, deteriorating, and falling apart, it was nevertheless quiet and attractive on the inside and out. Wind gusts pushed the ivy, which swung back and forth, through cracked glass panels. It was easy to lose yourself in relaxation beneath the green light, cheerful chirping, and quiet, earthy fragrance of nature wildly, yet brilliantly reclaiming the area.
Beautifully sculpted archways link halls and stairwells upstairs. Beautiful Victorian fireplaces were used to embellish the rooms. Turret alcoves may also be seen in certain rooms of the house. During my visit, the November light shone brightly through the alcove windows, casting a warm warmth into the chambers. These areas had previously been a great place to sit and enjoy the sun, and I’d say I still did. And what about the stairwells? There were quite a few of them. I’m guessing some were intended for servants to keep them apart from the family or visitors, but now they just appear like someone tried to build the house after an M. C. Escher piece.
A spacious attic at the very top of the house was previously dark wood, but now an exquisite and relaxing off-white owing to the many birds who had made this place their home for years. When I reached the top of the stairs, I was welcomed by yet another door that led to a balcony area located within the archway of the home’s northwest-facing front. I’m sure many evenings were spent up there watching the sunset.
Walter’s Incredible Wealth
So it’s clear that Walter Dunnington had a lot of money and was living a luxurious, upper-class lifestyle, but how did he get so rich? Sure, we know he was a tobacco tycoon at this point, but how did it happen?
In Farmville, Virginia, Walter’s father, James W. Dunnington, established the Dunnington Tobacco Company in 1870. Walter joined his father’s company in 1872, barely two years after it was founded. He would contribute over time by spreading the company’s name over the world, gaining clients from Italy, Austria, and even Norway.
While the firm first specialized on producing dark-fired tobacco, they later switched to bright lead, which had become increasingly popular with the tremendous development of the Virginia and North Carolina cigarette manufacturing industries near the end of the nineteenth century.
Norway eventually became one of the company’s most important clients. Thirty tobacco-laden train carriages left Farmville in 1902, bound for Norway through the shipping ports at the end of the Norfolk and Western Railway rails. The tobacco company subsequently expanded to over 1,100 acres, dubbed the Poplar Hill Farm. At Mill and First Street on the Appomattox River, one of the old tobacco warehouses may be found. While the Dunnington Mansion was demolished, the warehouse was converted and is now home to Charley’s Waterfront Cafe and the Green Front Furniture Company.
If the tobacco industry wasn’t profitable enough, Walter also ventured into banking, becoming a partner in Farmville’s First National Bank. If these two businesses weren’t enough to keep him busy, he also co-founded the Virginia State Fertilizer Company with Walter H. Robertson. Walter sat on the Hampden-Sydney College Board of Trustees in 1897, the same year he and his wife moved into their Poplar Hill estate. He had certainly become a highly busy, but extremely wealthy guy.
Walter Grey Dunnington died on August 1, 1922, leaving behind his son, Walter, and wife, India, who would remain in the house for the following 40 years. India died away on July 25, 1960, at the age of 103. It’s incredible to think that she not only lived through a period when railroads and horses were the primary ways of transportation, but she also witnessed the first light bulb, vehicle, plane, television, and even the debut and early growth of Rock and Roll music. Imagine what a crazy journey it would be through life. She and Walter are both interred at Farmville’s Westview Cemetery. Walter, their son, died 11 years later on May 20, 1971. He is interred at Southampton, Suffolk County, New York, at the Southampton Cemetery.
1960-Present Day
After India’s death, the house remained inhabited and well-maintained for years, however little information survives about who resided there between 1960 and 1998.
At one point, the golf course intended to rehabilitate the old home for use by visitors and functions. Unfortunately, when the economy deteriorated, the plans were shelved owing to a lack of money.
Virginia Dowler Dickhoff, a local citizen, was one of several who grew up on the ancient Dunnington farm. Her father would go from Canada to Prince Edward County to assist tend to the farm and maintain the field crops healthy. I found this information online from a former neighbor of hers. Virginia unfortunately died on January 15, 2020.
The house was auctioned off in an October sealed bid auction. The deadline for a 361-acre parcel of land, which included the house, was set for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, 2020.
Copyright: architecturalafterlife.com