Upper Shirley, Virginia Explained

Upper Shirley
Designated Other1:Virginia Landmarks Register
Designated Other1 Date:December 15, 1981[1]
Designated Other1 Number:018-0026
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Location:W of Charles City on SR 608, Charles City, Virginia
Coordinates:37.3472°N -77.2567°W
Built:-1870, 1890
Builder:A. H. Marks and Bros.
Added:October 29, 1982
Refnum:82001884

Upper Shirley is a historic plantation house located near Charles City, Charles City County, Virginia. In 1866, the owner of Shirley Plantation, Hill Carter, decided to retire and divide his Shirley Plantation estate, with the bulk of the estate (the current Shirley Plantation) bequeathed to his son, Robert, and the 'Upper Shirley' portion bequeathed to William Fitzhugh Carter.[2] [3] The original section of the house was built in 1868–1870, which has consequently been enlarged to its present size in 1890. It is a two-story, nearly square, stucco covered brick dwelling with an overhanging hipped roof. It measures approximately 42 feet by 47 feet. The front facade features a portico with stylized Doric order columns. On the west elevation is a doorway originally on the Warren House in Harrisonburg, Virginia; it is protected by a two-level porch which stretches across the entire facade. The house was built by Hill Carter for his son William Fitzhugh Carter of materials salvaged from a large 18th-century building that was demolished at Shirley Plantation.[4]

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Upper Shirley is now home to Upper Shirley Vineyards.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Virginia Landmarks Register. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. 5 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053819/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/register_counties_cities.htm. 21 September 2013. dead. dmy-all.
  2. United States Department of the Interior, National Register of Historic Places, Upper Shirley: https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/018-0026_Upper_Shirley_1982_Final_Nomination.pdf
  3. Penelope Cotrell-Crawford, 'Shirley Plantation: A History within the Landscape', The Garden Club of Virginia, 2019, pp. 18-19, 32-33: https://issuu.com/cottrellcrawford/docs/shirley_plantation_landscape_history
  4. Web site: National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Upper Shirley. Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff. December 1981. and Accompanying photo
  5. 'Upper Shirley', HouseHistree: https://househistree.com/houses/upper-shirley