Chesapeake Style Online

4
Timeless Treasures of Mathews
By Janice Vogel
On Saturday, April
27, the Garden
Club of Gloucester
will showcase four
Mathews County
homes as part of the eightieth
anniversary of Virginia’s Historic
Garden Week. e “Timeless
Treasures of Mathews” tour will
include Magnolia on the East
River, which dates to the 1600s;
Springdale on Put-In Creek,
from 1735; Buckley Hall in
Mathews Court House, from
1879; and the contemporary
gardens at Samarkand,
on Woodas Creek.
Mathews County was
formed in 1791 from the
portion of Gloucester
County known as Kingston
Parish and was a center for
shipbuilding as far back as
the Revolutionary War. Two
of this year’s featured homes
date to the period when
Mathews was part of Gloucester
County: Magnolia and Springdale.
With the earliest architectural
details on the tour, seventeenth
century Magnolia has original “six
over nine” windows and some of its
original ooring. Recent additions
include a sunroom which takes
advantage of the eleven hundred
feet of East River waterfront views,
and a connection between a former
schoolroom and the main house.
Soon to be on the National Register
of Historic Places, Springdale,
on Put-In Creek, was built in
the 1700s. Original architectural
features include window glass,
woodwork, heart of pine oors,
hinges and locks, one of which bears
the British Royal coat of arms.
John Buckleigh Donovan,
Commonwealth’s Attorney, “a
patriotic Virginian, eminent lawyer…
and First Master and charter
member of Oriental Lodge No. 20,”
built Buckley Hall in 1879 as part
of the larger plantation known as
Buckleigh Farm. Current owners Mr.
and Mrs. Gerald Lewis renovated the
center-hall frame Georgian, added a
spacious sitting and living area, and
began operating a bed and breakfast.
e four beautifully appointed
bedrooms, two of which feature
original replaces, retain their
original ooring and are named
for familiar Mathews places. An
ornate chandelier that originally
hung in the dining room is now
part of the New Point Comfort
bedroom. e mahogany dining
room table acquired by the Lewises
came from England in the 1850s.
e charming kitchen has been
updated, however the 1896 wood
stove once used for cooking remains.
A harpsichord and an extensive
collection of John Barber prints are
Spring 2013
also on display. Outdoor visitors
will enjoy the rose garden and other
plantings on the home’s four acres.
e extensive ower
beds and beautiful outdoor
rooms at Samarkand
Gardens are the result of
fteen years of attentive
gardening by owners Mr.
and Mrs. Tony Hammond.
Situated on Woodas Creek,
the spacious brick home
on the property was built in
1928 as a summer cottage
for “Clam King” Edwin
Treakle, a modest local
farmer who later became
the largest shellsh
dealer in the world.
Visitors on the Timeless Treasures
of Mathews tour are also invited
to Williams Wharf Landing where
lunch will be available, and the
Godspeed, a replica of one of the
1607 ships that transported colonists
to Virginia, will be docked.
Several historic sites in Gloucester
will be open to visitors, including
18thcentury Edge Hill House—
formerly Long Bridge Ordinary; the
19th century Gothic Revival style
Zion Poplars Baptist Church, which
has one of the oldest independent
African American congregations
in Gloucester; Walter Reed’s
birthplace; and Rosewell, the
ruins of one of the nest colonial
plantations and the birthplace of
Virginia Governor John Page.
Advance tickets for $25 are
available at the Gloucester and
Mathews Visitor Centers, Smith’s
Florist, and Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.
Tickets may also be purchased in
any of the featured homes or gardens
the day of the tour for $30 (full tour)
or $15 (one house). Children ve
and under free. For an advance
lunch reservation at Williams Wharf
Landing, call 804-725-9685.
www.vagardenweek.org/
Janice Vogel photos.