Property History, Headquarters, Albemarle County, VA

Project Abstract: This project was conducted alongside a land study that involved deed research and mapping of over 100 land transactions spanning from 1739 to the present day. The study area was a portion of western Albemarle County north of Crozet and White Hall known as "Brown's Cove." The area was named for Benjamin and Lucy Brown and their descendants, who played a key role in the development of Albemarle County during the 18th and 19th centuries. The primary goal of the project was to determine the date of construction "Headquarters," home of Thomas H. Brown. Secondary goals included searching for the location of the house called “Trinidad” and determining the original land grants for the four extant Brown homes in Brown’s Cove: Brightberry, Headquarters, Mount Fair, and Walnut Level.

Methodology & Process: A detailed, methodical process was used to extract as much information from primary source documents as possible. The first step in this process was to develop a chain of title for each of the properties being studied. For Brightberry and Walnut Level, the chain of title only attempted to trace whatever tract the house in question occupied through time. For Headquarters, a complete chain of title was developed for all of the tracts that created the holdings of the present day Headquarters Farm, LLC (HQF) tract. The Mount Fair chain of title generally follows the process used for Brightberry and Mount Fair, with some expansions as directed by the client.

Once the chains of title were developed, survey data was extracted from all deeds which contained usable “metes and bounds” information (bearings and distances). These parcels were then georeferenced and placed on a USGS topographic map of the Brown’s Cove area. 127 unique maps were created for this project. Each handwritten deed that is referenced in the chains of title was then transcribed, and a unique “transaction number” was assigned to each deed or will cited in the chains of title. 96 instruments were cataloged as a part of this project. Where applicable, each transaction number corresponds to a map number, which identifies a map that gives further information about the land transaction.

Other information sources were studied as well, including personal property tax records, land tax records, Virginia grant and patent records, chancery court cases, the United States Census, personal papers at the University of Virginia, and secondary sources such as books and web sites. Insurance Policies are always a fantastic source of information, when available. The Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia wrote 31,138 policies between 1796 and 1867. Unfortunately no known MAS policies were written in Brown’s Cove.

Historic descriptions of parcels were placed on the topographic base map utilizing clues found on the topographic maps (which occasionally display former property lines with a red dashed line), aerial photos (fence lines and hedgerows often follow current or past property lines), current county tax maps, and other sources. Inconsistencies with declination (the difference between magnetic north and true north, which changes over time), the accuracy of surveys (18th century Virginia surveys typically measured to the nearest pole in length and the nearest degree in bearing), and transcription errors (the deeds found at court houses are transcribed copies of the originals, which the landowners retained) create opportunities for error when mapping historic parcels. It is also possible, especially on larger tracts (such as the 2850 acre parcel in “Transaction #1”), to be able to positively place points of the survey at opposite ends, but to find that the distances or angles that are in between the two points are off. Whenever possible, tracts that have been conformed to agree with other known information have notations on their respective map pages.

An exciting process known as "dendrochronology" was also conducted for this project. Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating "is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year." Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory was contracted to perform this work for the project in 2008.

Findings: In 1815, the Virginia General Assembly enacted a special personal property tax assessment to help pay for expenses incurred during the War of 1812 (which hit Virginia particularly hard in 1814). Scores of items considered to be luxuries were taxed, including portraits, rugs, furniture, and certain buildings. Thomas H. Brown is documented to have owned a Tan Yard valued at $100 in 1815. Brightberry Brown owned a sawmill valued at $50 and a gristmill worth $100.

There is an intriguing category in this tax list entitled “Houses.” This category contains a column entitled “Houses in the country” and a second entitled “Excess above $500 value.” Very few individuals on this list are credited with a house of enough value to warrant listing. In fact, of the fifty people who appear on the page that contains Thomas H. and Brightberry Brown, only three people are listed with a house valued over $500. The only Brown on this list is Bezaleel G. Brown (son of Bernard Brown and Elizabeth Dabney ), whose house is valued at $2100 (or $1600 in excess of $500). This house is likely today’s Walnut Level, which was built circa 1815.

Our next glimpse into what structures may have been built on Thomas H. Brown’s land comes in 1820, which is the first year that the General Assembly required localities to take into account the value of buildings on any tract of land. In 1820, Thomas Brown had buildings valued at $1,125.00 on his 75 acre tract. Typically, this value is assumed to be primary structures, such as dwellings, but it can also include auxiliary structures such as tan yards (in Thomas H. Brown’s case) or mills (in Brightberry Brown’s case.  Clearly a building (probably a dwelling) was in place on Thomas’s land by 1820.

Five years later, in 1825, Brightberry gives Thomas H. Brown yet another parcel of land, this time 328 acres “generally known by the name of Trinidad.”  In the deed, Brightberry Brown went on to state that the land was “the balance of the Trinidad Tract including six acres and ninety four poles of my Thurman Tract.” This, and the 75 acre tract given to Thomas in 1814, make up the 400 acre parcel that Brightberry purchased of William Dalton in 1800. In the deed, Brightberry also mentioned that Thomas H. Brown’s dwelling already stood on the 75 acre tract.

The next change in building value that occurred on Thomas H. Brown’s 75 acre tract was in 1828, when $750.00 was added for “improvements,” bringing the total value of buildings on the parcel to $1,875.00, a value which remained steady until 1840, when the value dropped to $1,800.00. Ten years later, in 1850, the value of Thomas’ buildings dropped again to $1,500.00.

Going by the land tax records, which, after 1820, are usually an excellent and accurate gauge of building construction and/or improvement dates, we might draw the conclusion that Headquarters achieved the basic massing and form that we see today (minus the early 21st century Pflug additions, of course) by 1820, with some expansion of the dwelling house or construction of outbuildings occurring just prior to 1828. A slight depreciation occurred in 1840, with a more moderate ($300 or 17%) drop occurring in 1850, which could be a correction based on the age of the dwelling, or due to the destruction of an outbuilding.

For the purposes of this discussion, it would be useful to know what type or size of building would have been valued at $1,125 (the value of T.H. Brown’s buildings) in 1820. On the 1815 Special Personal Property Tax page that includes Thomas H. Brown, other familiar Browns are: Brightberry, Henrietta, Bernis, Elizabeth, Dr. Charles, Bernard, Asa B., William, and Bezaleel G. Of these individuals, only Bezaleel G. Brown has a house valued at more than $500.00 (it being $2,100.00). Dendrochronology performed in 2008 suggests that the main block of Walnut Level (Bezaleel G. Brown’s house) was built in the winter of 1815/16. F.H. Boyd Koons’ paper states that it was built slightly earlier, in 1810. Again, for the purposes of this discussion, let us assume that the main block of Walnut Level (a two-story, five-bay brick structure) was valued at $2,100 in 1815.

The 1823 Albemarle County Land Tax record shows that Bezaleel G. Brown’s buildings were valued at $2,812.00. This reflects an increase from the 1815 Personal Property Tax list, but it is within the same range, and reinforces the idea that we are looking at basically the same structure at Walnut Level in both 1815 and 1823. So, a relatively massive two and a half story, five-bay brick house with multiple outbuildings is probably worth between $2,000.00 and $3,000.00 at that time.

The 1820 Land Tax Record lists Brightberry Brown’s buildings at $2,812.00. We might not expect such a high figure, as Brightberry’s house was not brick, but he did own at least two mills, which probably account for a significant portion of the value. For example, we know from the Manufacturing Census of 1820 that Brightberry’s sawmill was valued at $300.00 and produced 30,000 board feet of lumber in a year.  His grist mill (likely a larger structure) was not included in the census, however.

We know from the dendrochronology study that the smokehouse at Headquarters was likely built in 1812. A smokehouse of this type is typically an accessory structure to a dwelling, and is not normally found alone on a property. This would suggest that Thomas H. Brown built a dwelling and at least one outbuilding (the smokehouse) around 1812, two years before his uncle and father-in-law Brightberry Brown officially gave him the tract of land. This is not an uncommon practice for close family members to follow. This house would not have been worth more than $500.00 in 1815, but would have risen to $1,125.00 by 1820.

This strongly suggests the construction of a frame section circa 1812, and a more valuable section (possibly brick) by  1820.  This matches closely with K. Edward Lay’s description of the evolution of the house, except that we have not identified any portion of Headquarters that pre-dates 1785, as Lay asserts in his book, “The Architecture of Jefferson Country.”  Lay states that Brightberry Brown expanded the frame section of the house in 1812, and that the house was rebuilt after it burned in 1818 (which is when the three-bay, two and a half story brick section was constructed). According to Lay, Thomas H. Brown purchased nails and hinges from Thomas Jefferson’s foundry at Monticello in 1818. However, this enticing detail is not footnoted, and the researcher has not yet been able to document this information.

This thought process presents a reasonably believable chronology for Headquarters which is supported by physical evidence, partial scientific evidence (read further for additional discussion), historic documentation (through deeds and land tax records), and local lore as relayed by K. Edward Lay.

However, additional scientific evidence presents a significant contradiction to all that has been previously asserted. In May of 2008, Oxford Dendrochronology Laboratory presented their findings from Phase I of the Brown’s Cove Dendrochronology Study commissioned by John R. Pflug, Jr. and other property owners.

In this study, samples were drawn from wooden timbers in the floor and roof structure of the west (frame) section of Headquarters, as well as from the roof structure of the east (brick) section of the house. A total of 31 samples were taken from 27 timbers within the structure. 17 tree-ring sequences from these samples (3 from cellar of west section, five from roof of west section, and seven from the roof of the east section) yielded usable data for the study.

According to this study, the roof structure of the eastern (brick) section of the house was likely constructed in the summer of 1837 (the trees were felled in the winter of 1836/37). The cellar structure of the west (frame) section was constructed following the spring of 1837.

So, according to the proven scientific process of dendrochronology, the floor and roof structure of the frame section, along with the roof structure of the brick section of Headquarters (and presumably all other sections of the house in between) were constructed circa 1837. It is not uncommon for studies such as this to disprove ideas (typically family and/or local lore) that a house was built earlier than it was, so it is not surprising to find construction dates of 1762, 1769, or pre-1785 supplanted by a later date.

The field architectural analysis (later in this document) suggests that Headquarters underwent an evolution during several periods of the early to middle 19th century, although it is possible that builders and/or restorers created this sense of evolution intentionally.

More troubling is the analysis of land tax records for Headquarters. Because the assessors tracked the value of buildings on each tract of land that an individual owned, it is very easy for us to follow the tract of land that encompasses Headquarters…Thomas H. Brown’s 75 acre parcel acquired from Brightberry Brown in 1814.

When the General Assembly began tracking the value of buildings on land in 1820, the structures on T.H. Brown’s 75 acres were valued at $1,125.00. This value held until 1828, when the value rose somewhat significantly to $1,875.00 (a 40% increase). Nothing in either the Phase I or Phase II dendrochonology reports reflects a date near 1828 for Headquarters.  Beginning in 1840, the buildings began to drop in value (a mere 4% in 1840 , and a more substantial 17% to $1,500.00 in 1851). We see no change whatsoever in the tax record around 1837, which is the year that the dendrochronology suggests the house was built.

For comparison, land tax values have been tracked for the other three houses included in the dendrochronology study (Brightberry, Walnut Level, and Mount Fair). The data suggests that Walnut Level was built circa 1816, and the tax records support this, showing a value of $2,812.00 in 1820, and only decreases in value through 1860.

The tax records dealing with Brightberry also generally agree with the dendrochronology findings. The study has determined that the frame two and a half story Federal style section of the house (except for a late 18th century core) was built circa 1819, with the larger hipped-roof addition being added around 1854. The tax records indicate a significant (27%) rise in value in 1821, with a drop in value (unexplained) in 1855, and a subsequent rise back to $2,500 in 1857. These changes in value fall 2-3 years past the dendrochronology date of the house, which is thought to be an acceptable margin.  These dates also mesh generally well with those presented by K. Edward Lay. He suggests that Brightberry Brown built the Federal style section around an earlier house in 1818, and the hipped-roof section in 1848 . As we now know, the hipped-roof section was instead built by Horace Brown in the next decade.

Tax records for Mount Fair are even more telling. Family legend says that Mount Fair began as an 18th century house, and this is corroborated by the fact that a building valued at $675.00 was on the site by 1820…it is not a far stretch to assume that this was an older structure built by Bezaleel Brown, a Gentry, or someone else. The value of this building stayed basically the same through the 1840s. In the late 1840s, Mount Fair burned, and William T. Brown began constructing a new house, as evidenced by his purchases of building materials, including paint and hardware, from Richmond merchants in October of 1848.  In 1850, the value of buildings on the property jumps from $650.00 to $2,100.00, and then settles to $2,000.00 in 1851. This figure is matched by an insurance policy issued by the Schoharie County Mutual Insurance Company in December of 1851 for William T. Brown’s “dwelling house” valued at $2,000.00.  The Dendrochronology study thoroughly corroborates this information by telling us that the house was constructed in 1848-49.

So, with Walnut Level, Brightberry, and Mount Fair, we find that the land tax records do not dispute the findings of the dendrochronology study, and in some cases, they confirm those findings. Where does this leave us with respect to Headquarters? We find no correlation between the land tax records and the dendrochronology data.

According to K. Edward Lay, a fire destroyed Headquarters just prior to 1818.  At this point, we have no evidence to confirm this, and Thomas H. Brown certainly would not have needed a pressing reason such as a fire to build the brick section of the house at that time. It is possible, however, that stories in family lore of a fire at Headquarters are true, but that the fire occurred in the fourth decade of the 19th century, rather than in the second. If a significant fire occurred in the general time period of 1835-36, Thomas H. Brown could have substantially reconstructed the entire house.

Because a fire is known to have occurred at Mount Fair, we can look at the tax records for that property for clues of how to interpret the records for Headquarters. Various sources state that the fire at Mount Fair occurred between 1845 and 1847. Even though William T. Brown lost his house, and at least one (if not several) tax years passed before his new house appeared on the rolls in 1850, the value of buildings on his property never dropped.

Based on this information, we should not expect to see a drop in value on Thomas H. Brown’s buildings just prior to the 1837 dendrochronology date. At Mount Fair, however, we see a sharp increase in the value of William T. Brown’s buildings after the fire, and after his new house is built….in fact, the value of his new house is more than three times that of the old one. Clearly, the Mount Fair that we see today is much larger and grander than the pre-1848 Mount Fair.

After 1837, the value of buildings at Headquarters does not rise…not even slightly. In fact, the value of T.H. Brown’s buildings drops by 4% (not unlike other area houses that year) in 1840. At this time, the only reasonable explanation for this is that Headquarters burned in the mid-1830s, and that Thomas H. Brown rebuilt it almost exactly as it was…he did not make the house larger, and he did not greatly update the house. In other words, he did nothing that would have caused the tax assessor to value the new house any differently from the old one.

Unless a previously unknown collection of personal papers or correspondence is unearthed, the only other likely method that may yield clues concerning a fire would be brick luminescence, which studies silica within bricks to determine when they were made, or “fired.” The client has initiated a partial study of bricks from the eastern section of Headquarters, but results have not been made available as of the publication of this report.