Traveller's Rest
About this property
Traveller's Rest, also known as the General Horatio Gates Home, is a historic plantation house located on Bowers Road near Kearneysville, West Virginia, built in 1773 and enlarged a few years later. It was the home of Continental Army General Horatio Gates from 1773 until 1790. The house is very little altered from that period, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972. It is located on private property and is not normally open to the public. Traveller's Rest is located in a rural setting west of Kearneysville, on more than 200 acres (81 ha) of land which Bowers Road (County Road 1/1) runs through in an east–west direction. The main house, a 1+1⁄2-story stone structure, is set well back on the north side of the road. The eastern section was built by the Hyatt family in a side hall plan, with the western added by Gates a few years later in 1773. The eastern section is a 1+1⁄2-story structure over a full basement, with a gable roof. It measures about 34 feet wide and 30 feet deep. The western section is also a 1+1⁄2-story structure with a full basement and measures about 16 feet wide and 30 feet deep. The elevation is seven bays wide. Horatio Gates, a native of England, served in the British Army during the French and Indian War, but was prevented from advancement after the war by a lack of money or political connection. Gates and his family sailed from England to Virginia in 1772 and bought 659 acres (267 ha) on the Potomac River near Shepherdstown in what is now West Virginia. He built this limestone house and became a slave owner, a local justice, and a lieutenant colonel in the militia. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Gates helped organized the Continental Army, and went on to become of its more controversial generals, gaining the important victory at Saratoga in 1777 and a humiliating loss at Camden in 1780. After the war, Gates returned to Traveller's Rest. In 1790, he sold the home, freed his slaves and moved to New York City. Gates employed John Ariss for interior woodwork, at a time when Ariss was working on nearby projects for the Washington family. Gates added to the original four-bay structure ashlar masonry, appending a three-bay random rubble stone extension. The dormers were added after Gates's tenure. The only major documented alteration to the house after the period of Gates ownership is the addition of dormers to the gabled roof. List of National Historic Landmarks in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, West Virginia Media related to Traveller's Rest (Kearneysville, West Virginia) at Wikimedia Commons
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 Traveller's Rest
This page lists Traveller's Rest. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Traveller's Rest listed on the National Register?
Traveller's Rest was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1972.
What type of historic resource is Traveller's Rest?
Traveller's Rest is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Traveller's Rest a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Traveller's Rest has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Traveller's Rest?
The period of significance for Traveller's Rest is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Traveller's Rest?
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 Traveller's Rest will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Jefferson County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Jefferson County.
Explore JeffersonCounty ›More historic places in West Virginia
Browse all historic places in West Virginia.
View West Virginiahistoric sites ›West Virginia history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
West Virginiahistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Traveller's Rest will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.