The beauty and history of Gloucester County abound in its rivers and exquisite shoreline homes and will be showcased Saturday, April 26. Historic Garden Week in Gloucester, presented by the Garden Club of Gloucester and Mathews, includes access to three amazing waterfront properties and the Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester.
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, Dr. Robert Moton. It was designed as a place to gather, mentor, and support national civil rights leaders.
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.
Holly Knoll (3201 Leadership Drive, Gloucester)
Steeped in history, Holly Knoll was built in 1935 as the retirement home of Dr. Robert Russa Moton, the second president of the Tuskegee Institute, as a place where Dr. Moton could meet with, mentor, and support leaders as they worked toward racial equality. Following Dr. Moton’s death in 1940, his son-in-law, Dr. 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 Dr. 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. It has National Historic Landmark designation and now operates as the Gloucester Institute, carrying on Dr. Moton’s lifelong commitment to resolve issues in education and civil rights by training tomorrow’s African-American leaders.
The Gloucester Institute, Owner
Blythelea (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.
Katherine and Ronald Haggerty, Owners
Exchange (Hickston Lane, Gloucester)
Exchange has been lived in and loved by more than 20 families since it was built in the early 18th century. Situated perpendicularly to the river, the house is two and 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 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 the 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. From the gardens to the river bank, there are thousands of daffodils on the property.
Genie and Chris Applegate, Owners
Tour Information
Tickets are $50 in advance and $60 day of tour and are available at vagardenweek.org. For information, email gloucester@vagardenweek.org.
Special Activities
Master Gardener tours in the gardens at Brent and Becky’s, 7900 Daffodil Lane, Gloucester 804-693-3996 or www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com.
Dan Lonergan, arborist from Bartlett Tree Experts, will be at Exchange from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free tree seedlings will be distributed.
Refreshments are complimentary and served at Holly Knoll from 2 to 5 p.m.
