Elsing Green

Elsing Green is an historic plantation and protected rural property in King William County, Virginia, situated along the Pamunkey River roughly northeast of Richmond. The property encompasses nearly 3,000 acres, including the plantation house, historic dependencies, cultivated land, farmland, forest, marshland, and surrounding wetlands. Although the site is commonly identified with its historic plantation function rather than with a commercial brand, its continuing identity is maintained through the property, the Lafferty family, and the Lafferty Foundation's preservation work. The property's documented history reaches back to the late seventeenth century and is associated with the West family, whose lineage was connected to Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. A brick Jacobean lodge, now used as the east dependency of the manor house, was built before 1690 by Colonel John West. Tradition identifies the lodge as a hunting retreat associated with Lord Delaware and access to the surrounding woods by way of the Pamunkey River. In the early eighteenth century, Colonel William Dandridge named the plantation after his home parish of Elsing in Norfolk, England. Between approximately 1715 and 1720 he developed the principal house and a separate kitchen building. Carter Braxton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, acquired Elsing Green in 1753. The Queen Anne manor house is traditionally dated to 1758 during his ownership, although the broader architectural complex incorporates earlier and later elements. Braxton subsequently sold the property, and ownership passed through a series of inheritances and purchases. William Gregory acquired Elsing Green in 1820, after which members of his family continued to live there for at least another century. One later resident was Roger Gregory, a Confederate veteran and judge who was also involved in the founding of the law school that became the University of Richmond School of Law. By the 1930s the property had deteriorated. Beverly D. Causey purchased it and undertook restoration. Edgar R. Lafferty Jr. and his wife, Margaret, continued the restoration after acquiring the property in 1950 and enlarged the holding by consolidating adjacent land. After Edgar Lafferty's death, the family established the Lafferty Foundation to support preservation and protection. Historic-preservation easements were granted to the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, and the foundation acquired the plantation to help secure its long-term conservation. Elsing Green's principal house is a two-story, U-shaped brick structure in Flemish bond, with east and west wings extending northward. The east wing connects conceptually with the earlier hunting lodge, while the west side is associated with the kitchen house. The Pamunkey River lies close to the residence. The interiors contain eighteenth-century American and English furnishings, including the so-called Surrender Table, traditionally associated with negotiations involving the American, French, and English sides around the surrender at Yorktown. The property was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. Today Elsing Green is primarily maintained as a wildlife refuge and conservation property. Hunting is not permitted on the property or its surrounding wetlands. Its significance rests on its architectural fabric, association with colonial and Revolutionary-era Virginia, long continuity of land use, and preservation as a substantial historic landscape.

Elsing Green's history extends back nearly three centuries and is linked to the West family, whose ancestry was associated with Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. Before 1690, Colonel John West built a brick Jacobean lodge on the property. The structure survives as the east dependency of the later manor house and is traditionally described as a hunting lodge used by Lord Delaware, who was said to have reached the surrounding King William woods by way of the Pamunkey River. After Colonel John West's death in 1692, the plantation remained within the West family for a period. Colonel William Dandridge, a member of the Governor's Council from 1727 to 1743, later gave the plantation the name Elsing, after his home parish in Norfolk, England. He constructed the principal residence and a kitchen outbuilding between approximately 1715 and 1720. Local tradition holds that Martha Dandridge Custis Washington, Dandridge's descendant, once rode her horse through the house, although the story is part of the property's traditional history rather than a documented architectural feature. Carter Braxton purchased Elsing Green in 1753. A plaque at the property attributes the Queen Anne manor house to 1758, during Braxton's ownership. Braxton, who later became a signer of the Declaration of Independence, eventually sold the plantation, reportedly in the context of dissatisfaction with the building or financial pressures. The property then passed through further inheritances and sales. William Gregory purchased it in 1820, and descendants remained connected with the property for at least another century. Roger Gregory, a Confederate veteran and judge who died in 1920, was among the later residents. He also helped establish the law school associated with Richmond College, now the University of Richmond School of Law. During the early twentieth century, Elsing Green had fallen into poor condition. Beverly D. Causey acquired it in the 1930s and began restoration. Edgar R. Lafferty Jr. and his wife, Margaret, assumed responsibility for the property in 1950. They continued restoration and expanded the estate by adding adjoining land acquired previously. Following Edgar Lafferty Jr.'s death, the family created the Lafferty Foundation to preserve the plantation and its landscape. The preservation strategy included easements granted to the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, followed by foundation ownership of the plantation. The main house is a two-story, U-shaped Queen Anne structure built in Flemish-bond brickwork. Its east and west wings project northward, with doors leading toward the detached east dependency and west kitchen house. The original lodge, the manor house, the kitchen building, cultivated acreage, and the surrounding forest and marsh form a connected historic landscape near the Pamunkey River. The property contains eighteenth-century American and English furniture, including the Surrender Table, which tradition associates with discussions of surrender surrounding the Battle of Yorktown. Elsing Green entered the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1971. Its current identity is primarily that of a preserved historic property and wildlife refuge rather than a commercial operating brand. The plantation remains in continuous operation under the Lafferty family's stewardship, with conservation and historic preservation taking precedence over conventional commercial development. Hunting is prohibited on the property and the adjacent wetlands.

• 1971

  National Historic Landmark designation

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  The property received formal National Historic Landmark status.

• 1969

  Historic-register listings

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  Elsing Green was placed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.

• 1950

  Lafferty family restoration and expansion

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  Edgar R. Lafferty Jr. and Margaret Lafferty continued restoration and expanded the plantation's landholdings.

• 1930

  Restoration initiated by Beverly D. Causey

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  Beverly D. Causey acquired the deteriorated property in the 1930s and began restoration work.

• 1820

  Gregory family ownership began

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  William Gregory purchased Elsing Green, and his descendants remained associated with the property for at least another century.

• 1758

  Queen Anne manor traditionally dated to Braxton ownership

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  A plaque at the property dates construction of the Queen Anne manor house to 1758.

• 1753

  Carter Braxton acquired Elsing Green

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  Carter Braxton, later a signer of the Declaration of Independence, purchased the plantation.

• 1715

  Principal house and kitchen complex developed

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  Colonel William Dandridge built the principal house and a kitchen outbuilding during the period from approximately 1715 to 1720.

• 1692

  West family succession

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  After Colonel John West's death, Elsing Green passed through the West family line.

• 1690

  Early lodge constructed

  [1]Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org

  A brick Jacobean lodge associated with Colonel John West was built before 1690. It later became the east dependency of the manor house.

A privately preserved Virginia historic plantation and conservation landscape combining colonial-era architecture, Revolutionary-era associations, agricultural land, and wildlife habitat.

• Historic architecture

  Elsing Green plantation house

  The principal residence is a two-story, U-shaped Queen Anne house built in Flemish-bond brickwork. Its east and west wings project northward, forming part of a larger complex that includes the earlier east dependency and a detached west kitchen house. The residence contains period American and English furnishings and is the central architectural element of the preserved plantation landscape.

• Historic architecture

  Elsing Green east dependency

  The east dependency incorporates the brick Jacobean lodge built before 1690 and traditionally associated with Colonel John West and Lord Delaware. It is among the earliest surviving elements of the Elsing Green complex and links the property to its late-seventeenth-century origins.

• Conservation landscape

  Elsing Green wildlife refuge

  The property is primarily maintained as a wildlife refuge encompassing farmland, forest, marshland, and wetlands around the historic residence. Hunting is not permitted on the property or surrounding wetlands, reflecting the Lafferty family's preservation-oriented stewardship.

• 1950

  Restoration and land consolidationStrategy

  Background

  The plantation had deteriorated before Beverly D. Causey's restoration work in the 1930s. Edgar R. Lafferty Jr. and Margaret Lafferty subsequently assumed stewardship.

  Action taken

  The Laffertys continued restoration and expanded the property by adding adjoining land.

  Aftermath

  The expanded estate provided a larger historic and ecological landscape for subsequent preservation efforts.

  Source

• Long-term preservation through foundation ownership and easementsStrategy

  Background

  After Edgar R. Lafferty Jr.'s death, the family sought to protect the plantation's architecture and surrounding landscape.

  Action taken

  The Lafferty family formed the Lafferty Foundation, granted historic-preservation easements to the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission and Virginia Outdoors Foundation, and transferred the plantation into foundation ownership.

  Aftermath

  The arrangements strengthened the property's long-term conservation framework and supported its continued operation as a historic site and wildlife refuge.

  Source

1. 1Elsing Greenen.wikipedia.org