Kentland Farm Historic and Archeological District (Boundary Increase)

About this property

Kentland Farm Historic and Archeological District is a historic home, archaeological site, and national historic district located near Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Virginia. The district encompasses a complex of 19th century agricultural outbuildings associated with a Federal and Greek Revival style brick dwelling built 1834–1835. Located in the district are significant archaeological resources that include a complex of Late Woodland village or camp sites. There is archeological evidence of a Late Woodland Period occupation on the site. "An archeological survey, conducted in 1991, confirmed that there is at least one extensive Late Woodland Period (AD 800-1600) prehistoric Indian village located on the farm. The investigation resulted in the recovery of hundreds of artifacts including weapons, stone tools and lithic debris from tool manufacture, fragments of aboriginal clay pottery, fire-cracked rocks from hearths or fireplaces, and other pieces. There is also evidence of Native American Shawnee habitation and migration in the late 1700s through Kentland Farm, Toms Creek, Virginia, and the New River (Kanawha River)." James Randal Kent acquired the farm in the early 1800s. According to the U.S. Census just prior to the Civil War, Kent produced corn, wheat, wool, butter, hay, clover seed, oats, flax seed, plus horses, cattle, sheep and swine, and owned 123 slaves. His property holdings were twice as valuable as the next wealthiest landowner in Montgomery County. James Kent also owned the largest number of slaves in the region. Before the Civil War, along with his daughter who owned another farm across the river, that is now the site of the Radford Arsenal, they owned 250 slaves in 1860. The site today still maintains several buildings from the Kent family farm period. This includes the antebellum brick manor house, and other buildings including a mill, numerous early farm buildings, garden areas, an antebellum cemetery for the Kent family and for the slave community. Many of the farm buildings "were constructed in the 1950s and have been retrofitted over and over again. Some have been abandoned, like two old concrete block silos that still stand on the site." Other buildings are more recently constructed, from the 1980s to the present. Some of the old barns held unexpected finds, such as an old apple cider press and early chain saws, now refurbished and used by the students. The house is considered modest today, but was built of brick to keep it cool during the summers. German stonemasons mined limestone from Brush Mountain, while slaves mined clay from nearby pits and made the bricks for the home and the six-sided smokehouse. "Other, long forgotten artisans worked on the house's interior, including a perfectly preserved and ornately carved wooden handrail on the main staircase."

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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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