Brook Hill
The mansion is set in a handsomely landscaped park which seems detached both geographically and temporally from the 20th century commercial development that surrounds it in Richmond's Northside. Among the early outbuildings is an architecturally noteworthy carriage house built in 1859 of the same bricks used in the construction of nearby Emmanuel Episcopal Church. The family cemetery is enclosed with a Gothic-style cast iron fence; the earliest stone dates to 1811. A slave cemetery also rests on the property. Brook Hill has remained in the same family since the early 18th century, and the lives of it's owners, the Williamsons, Stewarts and Bryans, have been closely interwoven with the history of Richmond and Henrico County over the past 200 years. During the course of the War Between the States, most of the leaders of the Confederacy were entertained here.
"Brook Hill, with its profusion of bays, verandas and eclectic ornamentation is a house unparalleled in Virginia. The house in its present form dates largely to the 1850's and "60s, being a curious blend of Gothic Revival and Italianate elements. The original 18th-century house is somewhere within the walls of the present structure, but there is no visible architectural evidence to confirm this tradition. The mid-19th-century interiors which are even more richly varied than the exterior of the house, remain largely intact....." Inventory of Early Architecture County of Henrico, Virginia, Compiled and edited with introduction by Christopher M Gregson. Also on this property is the Brook Road Tollhouse, probably the only surviving building of its type in central Virginia. The original toll keeper's house, a one story structure, was erected between 1825-40.
Below are pictures of the family cemetery:
Below are pictures of the slave cemetery:
- Privately owned
- (Photos supplied by Mr. Welford Lloyd Williams; Inventory of Early Architecture County of Henrico, Virginia)
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Enerdale
Dr. John Friend (1826-1889) erected Enerdale farmhouse in 1850-52. He married a Miss Barker, daughter of the man responsible for manufacturing the popular "Dr. Barker" line of tonics and liniments.
Dr. Friend, who graduated from the Virginia Medical College in 1850, practiced as a physician in Richmond and surrounding Henrico County until his death in 1889.
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Mankin Mansion
This structure was built by Edward T. Mankin in 1924. Mankin dedicated his home to his son, Irvin, who was killed in World War I. An inscription in the wood flooring of the main hall states "Irvin Place". E. T. Mankin died July 8, 1951. He established a brickwork operation at this location, which operated until shortly after his death. Mankin produced bricks for the Colonial Williamsburg restoration project during the 1930's as well as for Hudson River mansions and large residences on Monument and Chamberlayne Avenues in Richmond, Virginia. The hive-like brick kilns have been demolished. The main house is surrounded by the remains of a brick-walled formal English garden. Dependencies on the estate include an attached Carriage House, Farmer's Cottage, Summer House and a three-unit garage. This Georgian Revival estate is one of fourteen significant National and State Registered Historic Properties located in Henrico County.
- Wedding Resort and Bed & Breakfast.
- (County of Henrico)
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Mechanicsville School
The name of Glen Lea Elementary School is over 100 years old! It's beginnings as a school, however, harkens back further to 1876.
On March 18, 1876, a one-room schoolhouse on Harvie Road opened. The room was 24' by 36'. The School Board paid $62.50 to John Wright for the land. The School was named the Mechanicsville School.
In September, 1908, a new school on Mechanicsville Turnpike opened. The new school was much bigger; it had six classrooms, an auditorium, office, sewing room, basement, and central heat. A neighborhood contest was held to name this new school. "Glen Lea" was the winning entry. It was assumed that the name came from the farm named Glen Lea. An image and information about the 1908 building are below.
In just a few years, the student population outgrew the school building erected in 1908. In 1946, it was replaced by Glen Lea Elementary School on Austin Avenue, where elementary students still attend today.
The Glen Lea building, pictured above, on Mechanicsville Turnpike built in 1908 has since been demolished. The original one-room schoolhouse from 1876 is next to and owned by the Gospel Baptist Church. Below is the Church-owned structure as it appears today. The entrance of the original one-room is on the left-gabled end of the red brick structure, and the Church added to the original building over time.
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