Blandome
About this property
Blandome is a historic hilltop home built circa 1830 and located overlooking the downtown area and within the city limits of Lexington, Virginia. Its history (and that of its occupants) shows Virginia's changing racial relations: from 19th century occupation by privileged whites ranging from slaveowners to proponents of Jim Crow, to 20th century occupation by economically successful and politically active African Americans. A wealthy family or group of investors built Blandome circa 1830. The builder's identity is uncertain because real estate records only became organized for this area of the city (which became known as "Diamond Hill") circa 1872, when Laura H. Tucker, wife of John Randolph Tucker, bought the property for $6500 from Jacob Fuller (1816-1890), a native Lexingtonian who was the librarian of the Virginia Military Institute (hence "VMI"). That institution's chief catalyst, John Thomas Lewis Preston (1811-1890), lived at Blandome when his first wife, the former Sarah Lyle Caruthers (1811-1856), gave birth to their son Thomas Lewis Preston on June 2, 1835. Young Thomas L. Preston was named after his paternal grandfather Major Thomas L. Preston (1781-1812) who had represented Rockbridge County in the Virginia House of Delegates for several years. In 1844 J.T.L. Preston moved his family to a house at 110 Preston Street. The educator, lawyer and military officer had graduated from Lexington's Washington College (now Washington and Lee University, hence "W&L") in 1828 and during the next decade helped found VMI, located in what had been a former state arsenal building. VMI accepted its first students in 1839, and J.T.L. Preston was one of its first professors as well as spokesman. After Lt.Col. J.T.L. Preston's service in the Confederate States Army (including under fellow faculty member promoted to Gen. Stonewall Jackson, who died in 1863) and emancipation of his plantations' slaves (he owned property in several counties as well as Kentucky, and the non-slave states of Illinois and Indiana) caused financial troubles, Preston returned to teach at VMI. In 1870 he transferred some Lexington property (possibly Blandome) to Jacob Fuller. Before the war, J.T.L. Preston had invested jointly in several ventures with other Lexington natives and/or faculty members. He and Jacob Fuller (or his father of the same name), were among investors in a tannery at the foot of Diamond Hill; another investor was VMI professor Stonewall Jackson. Preston could have rented or rented out the house in which his son was born. His wife's elder brother, novelist Dr. William A. Caruthers (1802-1846) could also have owned or lived in the house (before financial reverses circa 1829, or during his return to the city in 1835), since he or especially his father William Caruthers (1771-1817) owned many properties in Lexington.
Location
Categories
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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Questions about this property
When was Blandome listed on the National Register?
Blandome was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 24, 2002.
What type of historic resource is Blandome?
Blandome is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Blandome?
The period of significance for Blandome is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Blandome?
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