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Tusculum SOLD
Amherst County, Virginia
1755
Tusculum, located in Amherst County, was purchased by the Revolving Fund Program in 2002 in order to prevent its demolition to make room for a new home site. After negotiations to keep the house on site failed, the Revolving Fund Program purchased the house for relocation. Sweet Briar College purchased Tusculum from the Program for relocation to its campus.Prior to the move, extensive studies by Travis McDonald and the 2003 Poplar Forest Restoration Field School were undertaken, including photographs and drawings in order to determine and document its current status.According to the Field School Report, Tusculum was built in two principal phases. The two-room-deep north section of the house was constructed during the third quarter of the 18th century, perhaps in the 1750s. The one-room-plan south section was added in the early 19th century, approximately 1805. The house had stone and brick foundations, plain and beaded weatherboard siding, exterior gable-end brick chimneys and a gable roof covered with asphalt shingles. The interior had changed very little, with Georgian and Federal mantels, a stair with turned blausters, chair rails, wood floors, plaster-and-lath walls and ceilings (replaced with plasterboard in some rooms).Sweet Briar College contracted a team to dismantle the building. It is currently in safe storage and awaiting reconstruction. The reconstruction process will be documented and done in consultation with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The newly reconstructed Tusculum will be the heart of the Tusculum Institute.Located on the campus of Sweet Briar College, http://www.tusculum.sbc , Tusculum Institute is a historic preservation resource center, dedicated to preserving and studying the region's historic assets within a context of environmental stewardship.
Contact:
Sarah Cooleen Revolving Fund Program Manager
scooleen@preservationvirginia.org
804-648-1889 ext. 320
Fax: 804-775-0802
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