Ampthill

About this property

Ampthill is a plantation located in Cartersville, Virginia, roughly 45 minutes west of Richmond, and just over an hour south of Charlottesville. Since 1972, the property has been listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. In 1714 Charles Fleming took on a land patent of 670 acres (2.7 km2) with the intent to cultivate it. The land, however, "lapsed" and in 1722 was granted to Thomas Randolph. This was later included in a tract made up of 2870 acres (11.6 km2), which became known as "Clifton." However, this initial 670 acre (2.7 km2) tract would form "The Fork," named after its location at the confluence of the James and Willis Rivers. In 1724, Randolph sold "The Fork" to Robert "King" Carter, then the wealthiest landowner in Virginia. In his will dated 22 August 1726, King Carter willed the 2870 acre (11.6 km2) tract to his then-unborn grandson, stipulating that the child carry the Carter name. Some time later, Anne Carter and Major Benjamin Harrison of Berkeley Plantation, christened a son, Carter Henry, who upon reaching legal age became the owner of the property known as "Clifton" in Cumberland County, Virginia. After graduating law school and beginning his legal practice, Carter Henry Harrison I moved to Clifton.There, he wrote the Cumberland Resolutions, which were presented from the steps of the Effingham Tavern. These and similar resolutions were later incorporated into the Virginia Resolutions, which formed a basis for the Declaration of Independence, written by Harrison's nephew, Thomas Jefferson. Carter Henry Harrison also served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1782–1787). Shortly before that service, Carter Henry Harrison settle his third son, Randolph Harrison, at Ampthill. Carter Henry Harrison's last will and testament, admitted to probate in 1793, confirmed Randolph as the owner of Clifton, and The Fork's owner as his brother Robert. However, financial problems caused Robert to sell The Fork to Shadrack Vaughan in 1804. Around 1815, Randolph Harrison repurchased the Fork (still a clapboard structure), and began renovating the adjacent manor house. Randolph called upon his cousin, Thomas Jefferson, to design the brick addition that exists today. These plans survive today on file with the University of Virginia. The addition began in 1835 and was completed in 1837, and the structure was renamed "Ampthill." The two "houses" were separate for a number of years until a one-story passageway was built to connect them. Meanwhile, Randolp Harrison continued his father's tradition of public service by succeeding George W. Crump as one of Cumberland County's representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1825, and won re-election once.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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