Orange County, Virginia located just north of Charlottesville is drenched in American history
from its founding in 1734 with important sites from the revolutionary war and as a hub of the confederacy during the Civil War. Many significant homes still exist from that period with at least 175 antebellum homes and buildings listed in Ann Miller’s fine book, Antebellum Orange.
Among the finest examples of Jeffersonian inspired architecture would be Frascati, c. 1823,
built for Phillip Barbour, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by John Perry known for his
work Thomas Jefferson on the University of Virginia. Frascati is in good company in Orange
County with several prominent estates owned at that time by Virginia’s statesmen including
Governor Barbour and President James Madison each within a pleasant hour’s ride.
Another way to enjoy the rich character of an old home is the increasingly popular practice of
repurposing old materials, often logs, floors and doors from a disassembled home are used in
the construction of an otherwise newer home. A great example is Dutchmont, also in Orange
County that was built using materials from an old mill in the Shenandoah Valley. One feels like
they are walking into an 1850’s log home with wide plank flooring, hand hewn beams and
timber peg joinery while enjoying a fabulous chef’s kitchen, luxurious baths and geothermal
HVAC.
Dutchmont is currently offered for sale on 100 acres in Orange County https://forsale.
charlottesvillecountry.com/idx/featured
Whether and old clapboard farmhouse on a gravel road, a fanciful Victorian in town or a
National Landmark like Frascati, if the idea of an older home tugs at your heart.