Claymont Court
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Claymont
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Front entrance to Claymont Court
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| Nearest city | Charles Town, West Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 39°16′2″N 77°54′14″W / 39.26722°N 77.90389°WCoordinates: 39°16′2″N 77°54′14″W / 39.26722°N 77.90389°W |
| Built | 1840 |
| Architect | Unknown |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP Reference # | 73001908 |
| Added to NRHP | July 25, 1973 |
Claymont Court or simply Claymont is a Georgian style brick mansion, the grandest of several built near Charles Town, West Virginia for members of the Washington family. The current house was built in 1840 by Bushrod Corbin Washington, grand-nephew of George Washington, to replace a house that was originally built in 1820, but burned in 1838. The house was purchased in 1899 by author , who lived there until his death in 1902. In 1943, Claymont was bought by industrialist R.J. Funkhouser, who at the same time bought nearby Blakeley, another Washington house. In 1974 it was purchased by John G. Bennett for the purpose of an intentional community. It is currently used as a retreat center by the Claymont Society for Continuous Education.
In the 1700s, the 300-acre (1.2 km2) plot of land on which Claymont stands was owned by John Augustine Washington, the brother of George Washington. George Washington had established the Bullskin Plantation, the first property he ever owned, a few miles southwest of the Claymont property. In 1811, George Washington's grand-nephew Bushrod Corbin Washington inherited this land at the age of 21. Bushrod built a thirty-four room mansion here using ninety slaves. Bushrod's brother, John Augustine Washington III, subsequently built the Blakeley mansion 600 yards away facing Claymont. The two brothers married daughters from the Blackburn family and started their own families directly across from each other in the Blackeley and Claymont mansions.
Bushrod finished building Claymont in 1820 for $30,000; a massive sum at the time that became known as "Bushrod's folly." After completion, it was the largest house in the area. With later additions to the home, it would become the largest house in West Virginia at 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) with 59 rooms and 25 fireplaces. Claymont may also be the northern most example of the Virginia Plantation Style mansion with wings, courtyards, and dependencies. Claymont burned down in 1838 during Bushrod's first week working in Richmond as an assemblyman in the Virginia House of Delegates. The central part of the mansion was completely rebuilt and the remainder restored. It is thought the fire started in the fireplace of the mansion's basement kitchen. Bushrod died in 1851 leaving Claymont to his son Thomas Blackburn Washington. Thomas died in 1854 leaving the estate to his eldest son Bushrod Corbin II.
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