Built 1749 NRHP Reference # 95000245 Designated VLR January 15, 1995 Area 13 ha | Architectural style Colonial VLR # 066-0040 Opened 1749 Added to NRHP 17 March 1995 | |
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Location 1 mi. W of jct. of VA 605 and VA 669, N side, near Kilmarnock, Virginia | ||
The Anchorage is an historic house located in Northumberland County, seven miles (NE) outside of Kilmarnock, Virginia, near to Wicomico Church, Virginia. It was built pre-1749 as a 2 1/2-story home (original section which is still lived in) with a gambrel roof and then extended in the 1840s, including basement foundation. An annex building of 1.5 rooms which was built also in the mid-19th century, was moved and attached to the house in the 1930s. The original section of the house was then extended in the rear in the mid 1980s. There are five fireplaces, three of which are part of the original chimney.
In over 260 years, the home has only had a handful of owners. The current owners, The Byrne Family, are on the 3rd generation, having owned the home since the 1920s. The original property (originally called "Road View") was approximately 100 acres (40 ha) and sits on Mill Creek which feeds off of the Chesapeake Bay. The dock is situated in Kent Cove, which runs approximately 100 yards off of the Creek. At the entrance of the woods is the Kent family cemetery which dates back through the Civil War, inclusive of a CSA (Confederate States of America) Memorial tombstone and Grave.
The property is complemented by rolling orchards and woods sitting on Mill Creek with approximately 2,000 feet (610 m) of waterfront acreage. The barn lot has a corn crib and additional barns dating back to the 1840s. The property which was originally a tobacco farm, is situated in Ball's Neck in the Northern Neck of Virginia, rich in early colonial history. Mary Ball Washington was born only a few miles away in Lively, and Richard Lee I ("The Immigrant" was Robert E. Lee's GGG Grandfather) emigrated from England in 1639 and had a large tobacco plantation ("Ditchley") of approximately 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) on property approaching The Anchorage.
It was registered as an historic landmark by the Virginia Landmarks Register (Virginia Department of Historic Resources) in Virginia by the Byrne Family in 1995. It also appears on the National Register of Historic Places.