"Church Quarter" Is One Of Hanover's Last Log Cabins

Church Quarter, a charming log cabin on the Old Ridge Road in western Hanover County, is one of the last survivors of what was once a common house type. Built about 1843, it is essentially intact, and is significant architecturally as the best-preserved antebellum log dwelling in the County.

The original portion of the house features logs that are hewn partially flat on the sides, but round on the tops and bottoms. The board-and-batten doors, and the door hardware, are a particularly significant feature of Church Quarter. Wide plank floors and painted black mantels are typical of the period.

A brick orangey, known locally as the flower house, is one of only two such dependencies surviving in Hanover County. Many of the old flowers still remain on the property.

The three-acre tract on which Church Quarter is located was originally part of a land patent granted in 1719 to Richard Harris, a member of the House of Burgesses. Other prominent Hanoverians to own the property were Nelson Berkley of Airwell and John Thornton, a juror on the famous Parson's Cause case argued at Hanover Courthouse by Patrick Henry.

Church Quarter had a small role in history when General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson stopped for water en route to Gordonsville in 1862. Jackson's visit was commemorated on Oct. 15, 2000, when a Virginia State Historic Highway Marker was unveiled with a Civil War Color Guard and "Jackson".

The Scotchtown Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution purchased Church Quarter in 1969 and has worked to restore the cabin and maintain it as a meeting house for the chapter.

Funds are now being raised for capital improvements such as replacing the roof, treating the logs, repairing the smoke house and rebuilding the brick orangey. For information and tour appointments, write Church Quarter, Scotchtown Chapter, NSDAR, 1405 West Patrick Henry Road, Montpelier, VA 23192.