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HISTORY

woodbourne

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, under the long shadow of its nearest peak, Bald Top Mountain (Elev. 1647), Woodbourne Estate proudly stands. In the heart of the 53 acres rest the Manor House and Stone Kitchen, circa 1810. The property is listed in Virginia Landmarks Register and on the National Register of Historic Places. Woodbourne Estate is the new home for Bald Top Brewing Co, Virginia’s First Historic Farm Brewery.

ARCHITECTURE

The Manor House and Stone House are fine examples of the Federal Style architecture in the rolling Piedmont of Virginia. Woodbourne Manor is architecturally distinguished by the fine quality of its masonry, the handsome crown molding of its cornice and the pleasing proportions of its rooms. With a firm foundation on large boulders and field stones, each brick used in the construction was handcrafted from the property’s rich soils, crowned by towering chimneys.

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John Henry Price and neighbor, Mr. Thomas Jefferson, relied on the same team of skilled craftsmen to build their masterpieces – Woodbourne and Monticello sharing similar fireplace mantles, Flemish Bond brick design and the truly unique chinoiserie railings on the grand front porch and gazebo.

civil

The hidden Manor House attic contains evidence of the nearby civil war battles, as the floor is stained with grease and meat drippings from the meats which were moved from the smoke house into the hidden attic by the slaves to ensure the household would survive the long winters.  The property sadly has a long forgotten slave cemetery, and is further surrounded by the Thrift Family Cemetery and a private civil war graveyard across the stream to the south.

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The most notable and scandalous pieces of Woodbourne Estate history came in 1853, when a personal feud arouse between James Lawson Kemper, Esquire, and Dr. George Thrift, reportedly over an overcoat, but further agitated by the fact they were both seeking seats in the House of Delegates. Kemper challenged Thrift to a duel on the banks of the Estate’s White Oak Run at daybreak. Thanks to an anti-dueling law both were immediately jailed until they promised not to kill each other.

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This represents only a small sampling the Estate’s rich history. The ghost of John Henry Price’s niece, a young beauty of approximately 18 years of age who brushes her hair and dances in the Manor House’s West 2nd floor bedroom, never wanting to leave this lovely place; the bullet hole and plug in the upper bedroom floor – having pierced the parlor room ceiling under circumstances unknown; and a barn ruins which was said to be hit by lightning at exactly midnight on its one year anniversary.

Woodbourne Estate Ownership Timeline

WOODBOURNE ESTATE

CRAFTSMANSHIP

ARCHITECTURE

SCANDAL

SCARY BUT TRUE

CIVIL WAR

ABOUT THE PROPERTY

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