About this property
The Hermitage near Charles Town, West Virginia is historic property which includes several buildings, as well as non-contributing tennis courts and a pool. The oldest structure is a small stone cottage dating to circa 1734, making it one of the oldest buildings in West Virginia. It resembles Prato Rio in nearby Leetown, West Virginia and may date to this property's first owner, Daniel Barnett, who was a partner in the Burr Iron Works circa 1740, the first of its kind in the state. A stone privy is also believed to be the oldest structure of its kind in the state. The two story wooden farmhouse (incorporating an old log structure in the back) is associated primarily with the Chew family, who moved into the house from Loudoun County, Virginia in the mid-19th century, when Roger Preston Chew was three. The L-shape is due to an incorporated stone cookhouse wing. As a Virginia Military Institute cadet, Chew helped control crowds attending the execution of John Brown after his raid on nearby Harper's Ferry. Col. Roger Chew later became a distinguished Confederate artillery and cavalry officer. During the American Civil War, Chew's flying artillery was engaged in more skirmishes and battles than any battery in the Confederate Army, and Col. Chew eventually commanded five battalions of two batteries. Both Roger and his brother Robert (who also served in the Confederate light artillery), rebuilt the estate after the war's end, and the interior was extensively remodeled during the Victorian era. In 1871, Chew married Louise Fontaine Washington, daughter of the last owner of Mount Vernon, at Blakeley. He then became an important business man in the area, as well as serving in the House of Delegates from 1882 to 1888.
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.
Everything a full report reveals about The Hermitage
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Questions about this property
When was The Hermitage listed on the National Register?
The Hermitage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 1993.
What type of historic resource is The Hermitage?
The Hermitage is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for The Hermitage?
The period of significance for The Hermitage is recorded as the colonial era, specifically around 1734.
Can I research the history near The Hermitage?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near The Hermitage will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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