Bellwood (Richmond, Virginia)
Bellwood, also known as Auburn Chase, New Oxford, Sheffield, and Defense Supply Center Richmond Officers' Club-Building 42, is an historic plantation house located near Richmond in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Bellwood was built on land formerly owned by the Seth Ward family. Judge Richard Ward, son of the original Seth Ward immigrant, established Sheffield in 1665 and five subsequent generations of first born sons named Seth were raised at Sheffield. Seth Ward V sold the property to his aunt and uncle, Mary Ann Ward and Richard Claiborne Gregory in 1797. Richard Claiborne Gregory's son, Richard Augustus Gregory 1795-1835 built Bellwood about 1804, and it is a two-story, five bay, timberframe I-house dwelling with a low hipped roof in the Georgian style. The house is set on brick foundations and sheathed in weatherboard. The property also contains the Gregory Family cemetery, the historic elk pasture created by James Bellwood, and two feeding stations for the elk. In 1887, the house and farmlands were acquired by James Bellwood, who restored the depleted land and made the farm one of Virginia's chief agricultural showplaces. In 1941, the Bellwood property was acquired by the U.S. Government and used for the Department of Defense General Supply Center. The house is maintained as the center's officers' club.[3]
Bellwood | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Richmond, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°24′55″N 77°26′10″W |
| Area | 21 acres (8.5 ha) |
| Built | c. 1804 |
| NRHP reference No. | 78003013[1] |
| VLR No. | 020-0007 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 12, 1978 |
| Designated VLR | June 19, 1973, September 22, 2011[2] |
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1] A boundary increase was proposed in 2011.
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (November 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Bellwood" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources., Jeanne Barnes (May 2011). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Bellwood, 2011 Update and Boundary Expansion" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources., and Accompanying five photos
