Locust Level Explained

Locust Level
Designated Other1:Virginia Landmarks Register
Designated Other1 Date:August 21, 1990[1]
Designated Other1 Number:009-0018
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Location:U.S. Route 460 west of its junction with VA 695, Montvale, Virginia
Coordinates:37.3864°N -79.7372°W
Built:c.
Architecture:Greek Revival, Federal
Added:December 21, 1990
Refnum:90001841

Locust Level is a historic home and farm located at Montvale, Bedford County, Virginia. It was built about 1824, and is a two-story, brick, central-passage-plan I-house with fine exterior and interior Federal-style detailing. It has a standing seam metal roof. Attached to the rear is a two-story mortise-and-tenon frame wing known variously as the Hall or the Dance Hall. Also on the property are a contributing kitchen and dining room building, a free-standing chimney, a meat house, spring house, family cemetery, and three mounting blocks.[2]

The home was built about 1822-1824 by Paschal and Frances Ann Otey Buford, on land that belonged to his father, Henry Buford. Frances Ann Matthews Otey Buford was part of the famous Mathews family. The land was originally granted by George III of the United Kingdom for "service to the crown." The home has ruins of the original home of Henry Buford on the site, as well as the remains of several of the mills operated by Paschal Buford. The famous treasure described in the Beale ciphers is thought to be buried near this home.[3]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 2013-05-12.
  2. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Locust Level . John Kern and Daniel Pezzoni . n.d.. and Accompanying photo
  3. Hamm, Olliemaye Freeman. Montvale: From Indian Trails to Sky Ways. Montvale, Va: O.F. Hamm, 1990.