Jerdone Castle
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Jerdone Castle
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| Location | N of Bumpass, near Bumpass, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 38°0′26″N 77°44′56″W / 38.00722°N 77.74889°WCoordinates: 38°0′26″N 77°44′56″W / 38.00722°N 77.74889°W |
| Area | 15 acres (6.1 ha) |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP Reference # | 84000042 |
| VLR # | 054-0045 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 04, 1984 |
| Designated VLR | August 21, 1984 |
Jerdone Castle is a plantation located in Bumpass, Virginia, dating from 1742. Jerdone Castle is a Virginia Historic Landmark and registered on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places. Originally 1,100 acres (450 ha), much of the plantation's original land is submerged under Lake Anna. The estate currently contains 125 acres (51 ha).
The oldest section of Jerdone Castle was built in 1742 by Francis Jerdone who came to Louisa County from Scotland in 1740. In addition to expanding his original landholdings and building a residence, Jerdone operated stores, mills, and a forge. The later main section of the house was built in 1853 for Francis Jerdone's descendent Sarah Jerdone Coleman and her husband, Gen. Clayton Coleman. The structure's generous size is emphasized by an Italianate bracketed cornice and cupola. In 1879 the estate was purchased by Frank T. Glasgow of Richmond, father of the author Ellen Glasgow. Ellen Glasgow spent her childhood summers at Jerdone Castle, which she later said greatly influenced her writing. In the fourth chapter of The Woman Within, entitled "I Become a Writer," Miss Glasgow describes lying in the meadow at Jerdone Castle and coming to the realization that writing was to be her future (VLR 280).
The Louisa County, Virginia, Historical Society documents that on June 10, 1791, President George Washington was an overnight visitor at Jerdone Castle. Washington's wife Martha was a close friend of Francis Jerdone's wife Sarah. Papers from the Jerdone family, including life at and the maintenance of Jerdone Castle, can be found in the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary.
Francis Jerdone was born in Jedburgh in the Shire of Tivotdale, Scotland on January 30, 1721. He was the son of John Jerdone, a magistrate and treasurer of the town. At the age of nineteen, he immigrated to Virginia from Scotland and settled in Hanover County, Yorktown; and later in Louisa County. He made his living as a merchant (factor), running a mercantile business with George Pottie until his death in 1771.
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