Jean E.R. Gilpin

Winchester-Clarke Garden Club

If you were to take a walk into the Burwell-Morgan Mill on a summer weekend, or during the Art at the Mill show, this is a phrase you might hear uttered repeatedly from first-time visitors. The bucolic grounds surrounding the Mill have always been a draw for those passing by, or those who want to enjoy a sandwich from nearby Locke Store outside with the Mill as a backdrop. For over two centuries, the Burwell-Morgan Mill has been a center of this quiet little Millwood community and has helped grow tourism in Clarke County.

Nathaniel Burwell, a Tidewater planter, and Daniel Morgan, a Revolutionary War general, undertook the construction of the original stone mill in 1782 and completed it in 1785. For much of the Mill’s life, it was a commercial mill, grinding thousands of pounds of grain per day. At the height of production, the Mill operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, producing both flour and grist for shipment worldwide. By the 20th century, the Mill had fallen into disrepair and its future looked bleak. In 1964, the Clarke County Historical Association (CCHA) acquired the Mill and, through restoration and fundraising efforts led by Board President Helen B. Byrd, the Mill was brought back to its former glory. In 1973, CCHA began its partnership with the Garden Club of Virginia. Over the years, the GCV has performed numerous projects which include creating a landscape setting for the Mill grounds, adding wooden and stone bridges, restoring perimeter fencing, and reworking the entrance walkway and grounds to remediate flooding and possible damage to the building. Predominantly native plants were used to enhance the Mill and its spillway.

Today, the Mill is host to numerous events throughout the year. Art at the Mill, which began in 1990, continues to bring in more than 300 artists and 1,000 works of art twice a year. This past April, the spring showing of Art at the Mill opened during Historic Garden Week and hosted a record number of visitors to the Mill.

Although not the commercial Mill it once was, the Burwell-Morgan Mill continues to grind grain and welcome visitors from all over the region.

In November 2020, Will Rieley, former Landscape Architect for the GCV, contacted me and shared his vision for the restoration of the rose gardens at Poplar Forest. At this time, the only plans had been done on paper. I began tending to the beds at Poplar Forest in April of 2021. The first year was about watering and feeding. The second season I watched for new growth and worked on filling out the beds. Three missing Alba maximas were added to the center bed. This is their second season in the garden, and they are starting to thrive. Other Pompon de Bourgognes have been added to the left oval bed to provide plenty of blooms while we continue to search for a Rosa mundi.

The rose beds were designed and placed very intentionally through the collaborative efforts of Monticello's Curator of Plants Peggy Cornett, Rieley and Poplar Forest's Director of Archaeology and Landscapes Dr. Eric Proebsting. Based on landscape archaeology accounts, as well as 1816 Jefferson journals that described the three beds in detail by dimension and varieties and a watercolor painting, the plan was to replicate the original design and plantings.

Cornett put together the list of roses for the project. The comments following the rose name and class are notes about the origin of the roses used in the project. (see below) These are wonderful roses with historical value that are easily maintained. Cuttings of these roses are available at the Tufton Center for Historic Plants as well as at Poplar Forest.

The rose beds have made a huge impact on the grounds according to Proebsting, “Adding these plantings has recreated Jefferson’s esthetic. It’s the first time anybody in recent history has gotten to see what Jefferson’s view would have looked like.”

Poplar Forest President and CEO Alyson Ramsey, adds "The restoration of the oval beds was the final element in a series of four landscape restoration projects generously funded by the Garden Club of Virginia. All four features – the restored double row of mulberry trees, ornamental clumps of trees, recreated carriage turnaround and replanted oval beds – were central to Jefferson’s overall creative vision for the landscape and villa. We will be forever grateful for their partnership.”

Ramsey concludes, “With respect to the oval beds in particular, the beds are carefully stewarded by Kaye Moomaw who ensures that the roses are thriving and the beds are always looking their best, for whose assistance and dedication Poplar Forest is enormously grateful!”

MUSK ROSES (white):

2 Double Musk (Rosa moschata plena) from the Crenshaw family plot in Hollywood Cemetery

3 Single Musk (R. moschata)

1 Bremo Musk (R. moschata plena from Bremo Recess)

2 Double Musk from Hollywood Cemetery, Temple family plot

GALLICA ROSES:

1 Millbrook Gallica (R. gallica variety found at Millbrook, the Epps’ family homesite near Dillwyn, VA.)

1 Apothecary Rose (R. gallica officinalis)

1 Tuscany (R. gallica ‘Tuscany’—which is believed to be the Black Rose that Jefferson received from Margaret Bayard Smith in 1808)

1 “Elegant Gallica” from the Historic Wyck House and Garden in Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. Site dates to the 1690s and the roses to the 18th century

1 ‘Charles de Mills’ gallica, pre 1790s. Very vigorous and beautiful red

DWARF ROSES:

2 Rosa centifolia ‘Pompon de Bourgogne’

Trying to identify outbuildings requires more detailed and intensive testing that may include the excavation of closely spaced test units and trenches to look for brick foundations, piers, or postholes for wood-framed structures while differences in soil types may suggest garden or landscape features.

Intensive test unit excavation looking for outbuilding remains.

Test unit excavated at Bacon’s Castle showing differing soils that eventually proved to be white sand-packed garden paths and brown loam-filled planting beds.

One of the paramount principles in all archaeological work whether surveying, testing, or full-scale excavation is the need to excavate by stratigraphic layers and not arbitrary levels. The image below is a graphic example of the importance of why excavation must follow stratigraphic layers. The example shows a buried topsoil layer on top of white sandy subsoil, all of which is covered by various types of fill layers, each individual fill layer representing a discrete event, time period, and source. It is crucial not to mix layers of different time periods which would happen in this case if an excavation was conducted in arbitrary levels, resulting in compromised and worthless information. Consequently, archaeological excavation must be done properly because the process of digging consumes whatever posthole, pit, or cellar was excavated and that feature is then gone forever. There are no second chances in archaeology

Submitted by Nicholas M. Luccketti, M.A., RPA

Be our guest at this inspiring and informative event. Enjoy lunch and networking.

Details follow.

Mark your calendar for an exciting new collaboration between the Garden Club of Virginia and the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. History Blooms will be a multi-day program at the Museum that weaves together the missions of both organizations and uses artistic floral design to tell the story of Virginia’s history. Details will be announced later this summer.

Bacon’s Castle received recognition in Knowinsiders as the #1 choice of the top 10 oldest fairytale castles in the United States.

While fairytale castles are more associated with medieval Europe, the United States is home to many beautiful chateaus, mansions and palaces if you know where to look. From North Carolina's grand Biltmore Estate to California's Hearst Castle, we round up the most enchanting, oldest, and beautiful American castles.

#1 Choice Bacon’s Castle

Bacon's Castle was built in 1665 for Arthur Allen and his family and is North America's oldest brick dwelling. Originally known as Allen's Brick House, it was dubbed "Bacon's Castle" in 1676 after several of Nathaniel Bacon's men occupied it for four months during the uprising known as Bacon's Rebellion.

Bacon's Castle is an exceptionally fine example of High Jacobean architecture. The Garden Club of Virginia restored a reconstructed 17th-century English formal garden. Several outbuildings, including an 1830 enslaved persons' dwelling, have also been preserved.

Preservation Virginia purchased Bacon's Castle at auction in the 1970s and meticulously researched, restored, and furnished the house in the 1980s.

Available at shop.gcvirginia.org, at the Kent-Valentine House and at select GCV events. Cards and gift-ready packaging are environmentally friendly.

Newsletter Editor: Clarkie Eppes, Hillside Garden Club

President of the Garden Club of Virginia: Debbie Lewis, The Garden Study Club