Carter's Grove

Carter's Grove, also called Carter's Grove Plantation, is a historic estate on approximately 750 acres along the north shore of the James River in southeastern James City County, Virginia. It is not a children's-apparel brand; the subject is a Georgian plantation house, archaeological site, and protected historic landscape associated with the early English colony of Virginia and the later Burwell family. The property occupies land connected with Martin's Hundred, an early Virginia Company settlement established around 1620. Archaeological work in the 1970s identified the remains of Wolstenholme Towne, a fortified settlement within Martin's Hundred that suffered severe losses during the 1622 attack by Indigenous forces and was subsequently abandoned. The site therefore represents several overlapping periods of Virginia history, including early English colonization, plantation agriculture, slavery, the American Revolution, post-Civil War social change, and twentieth-century historic preservation. The present mansion was commissioned by Carter Burwell, grandson of the prominent Virginia planter Robert Carter, known as King Carter. Construction was completed in 1755 on what was then a substantially larger estate. The house remained associated with the Burwell family until 1838 and was later owned by a succession of private owners. By the American Revolution, more than 450 enslaved people were recorded as living at Carter's Grove, making slavery central to the property's economic and social history. Several owners altered the house. Edwin Gilliam Booth purchased the estate in 1879 and remodeled it in a post-Civil War reconciliation and New South context. T. Percival Bisland acquired it in 1907 and introduced modern conveniences, while Archibald McCrea and his wife, Mary McCrea, undertook a major restoration and enlargement beginning in 1928. The McCreas raised the roof and added dormers, substantially changing the building's appearance while preserving its role as a prominent Virginia country estate. After Mary McCrea's death, the estate was transferred to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1969 through a gift from the Rockefeller Foundation. Carter's Grove operated for decades as a visitor attraction, with the mansion, reconstructed or interpreted plantation features, and archaeological presentations at Wolstenholme Towne. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. The site was closed to regular public visitation in January 2003 because it was costly to operate, geographically separated from Colonial Williamsburg's principal historic area, and difficult to integrate with the Foundation's focus on revolutionary-era Williamsburg. Hurricane Isabel later damaged the privately situated Carter's Grove Country Road, further complicating access. Colonial Williamsburg placed the property on the market in 2007 under protective conditions covering the mansion, archaeological resources, wetlands, forests, and James River viewshed. Halsey Minor purchased the mansion and 476 acres in December 2007, intending to use it as a residence and as part of a thoroughbred-horse breeding operation. His ownership ended in financial distress: the property entered bankruptcy proceedings after mortgage payments stopped, and Colonial Williamsburg submitted the successful bid at a 2014 auction before Samuel M. Mencoff acquired it later that year. A conservation easement held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources protects approximately 400 acres and imposes restrictions on development. The property is privately owned and its public-access status has not been established in the supplied sources.

The land associated with Carter's Grove includes the former Martin's Hundred tract, an early English settlement established along the James River around 1620. Wolstenholme Towne, a fortified community within Martin's Hundred, was severely affected by the 1622 attack on English settlements in Virginia and was later abandoned. Archaeological investigations conducted in the 1970s located portions of the settlement and produced evidence that helped broaden the historical interpretation of the Carter's Grove property beyond the surviving mansion. Robert Carter, the wealthy Virginia planter later known as King Carter, acquired part of the former Wolstenholme Towne area. He retained the land after his daughter Elizabeth Carter married Nathaniel Burwell, with Elizabeth receiving income from the property. Their son, Carter Burwell, inherited the tract and built the existing Georgian mansion, completed in 1755. The house stood on an estate of roughly 1,400 acres and was occupied by Carter Burwell and his wife, Lucy Ludwell Grymes. Burwell died in 1777, and his son Nathaniel Burwell later managed the property, raising crops including corn and wheat. The estate remained in the Burwell family until its sale in 1838. Carter's Grove's plantation economy depended on enslaved labor. More than 450 enslaved people were associated with the estate by the time of the American Revolution. Archaeological and interpretive work has consequently treated slave quarters and the lives of enslaved residents as essential parts of the site's history rather than as secondary features of the mansion narrative. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the property passed through several private owners. Edwin Gilliam Booth bought it in 1879, renovated the house, and promoted an architectural and landscaping program associated with postwar reconciliation and the ideology of the New South. T. Percival Bisland acquired Carter's Grove in 1907 and modernized it with improvements such as indoor toilets, central heating, window screens, and a more contemporary kitchen arrangement. Following periods of neglect under absentee ownership, Archibald McCrea purchased the estate in 1928. Working with architect Duncan Lee, McCrea and his wife, Mary, restored and enlarged the house. Their changes included raising the roof and adding dormers, creating a roofline unlike the one used when the house was first built. After Mary McCrea's death, the estate was transferred to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1969 through Rockefeller Foundation support. Carter's Grove became part of Colonial Williamsburg's broader historic-preservation and public-history program. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. For many years the Foundation operated the property as a visitor destination, presenting the mansion, plantation landscape, archaeological remains of Wolstenholme Towne, and later-period features. The site's relationship to Colonial Williamsburg's central Historic Area became increasingly difficult. Carter's Grove was several miles away, the house's furnishings reflected a 1928 interpretation rather than the principal revolutionary-era focus of the Historic Area, and visitor numbers did not justify the continuing operating burden. Colonial Williamsburg closed the site to regular visitors on January 2, 2003. Hurricane Isabel later damaged the scenic road that had connected the estate more directly with the Historic Area, adding a substantial access and maintenance problem. Following a four-year review, Colonial Williamsburg decided to sell Carter's Grove subject to restrictive covenants. The intended protections covered the mansion's exterior and interior, archaeological resources, wetlands, forests, and the James River viewshed, while limiting residential and commercial development. In December 2007, Halsey Minor purchased the mansion and 476 acres. He announced plans for private residence use and a thoroughbred breeding program, but did not ultimately live at the property. After mortgage payments ceased, the ownership entity entered bankruptcy proceedings. A trustee oversaw repairs, including substantial roof and flashing work, while preservation officials worked to protect the historic structure and archaeological materials. Colonial Williamsburg made the successful bid at a May 2014 auction for the outstanding mortgage amount and later resold the estate to Samuel M. Mencoff. A conservation easement jointly held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and Virginia Department of Historic Resources covers approximately 400 acres. Carter's Grove remains an important protected historic landscape, although the supplied sources do not establish a current regular public-opening schedule.

1. 2014Ownership passes to Samuel M. Mencoff

   Following bankruptcy proceedings and an auction, Samuel M. Mencoff acquired the property.

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2. 2007Estate placed on the protected-sale market

   Colonial Williamsburg offered Carter's Grove for sale under conservation and preservation restrictions.

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3. 2003Regular public visitation ends

   Colonial Williamsburg closed Carter's Grove to regular visitors while reassessing its mission and operating model.

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4. 1976Wolstenholme Towne archaeological site identified

   Archaeological work located remains of the early settlement on the Carter's Grove property.

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5. 1971Designated a National Historic Landmark

   The property received National Historic Landmark status.

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6. 1969Transferred to Colonial Williamsburg

   The Rockefeller Foundation gave Carter's Grove to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

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7. 1838Burwell family ownership ends

   Carter's Grove was sold after remaining associated with the Burwell family for generations.

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8. 1755Carter Burwell's mansion completed

   The Georgian house commissioned by Carter Burwell was completed on the inherited plantation estate.

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9. 1622Wolstenholme Towne devastated in the 1622 attack

   The settlement lost much of its population during the Indigenous attack on Virginia settlements and was subsequently abandoned.

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10. 1620Martin's Hundred and Wolstenholme Towne established

    English colonists developed Martin's Hundred along the James River, including the fortified settlement later identified as Wolstenholme Towne.

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A privately owned, conservation-protected Virginia historic estate whose significance derives from its Georgian architecture, colonial archaeology, plantation and slavery history, and long association with Colonial Williamsburg.

• Carter's Grove mansionHistoric architecture1755

  A Georgian plantation house completed in 1755 for Carter Burwell. The building was altered by successive owners, especially the McCreas, whose early twentieth-century restoration raised the roof and added dormers. It is the principal architectural feature of the estate and is protected through historic-preservation restrictions.

• Wolstenholme Towne archaeological siteArchaeological heritage1620

  The archaeological remains of an early settlement within Martin's Hundred, developed around 1620 and heavily affected by the 1622 attack on Virginia settlements. Excavations in the 1970s made the site an important component of Carter's Grove's interpretation of early colonial history.

• Carter's Grove historic landscapeCultural landscape

  The estate's riverfront acreage, plantation grounds, archaeological resources, wetlands, forests, and historic viewshed form a connected cultural landscape. A conservation easement protects a substantial portion of the property and limits development.

• 2013Preservation repairs undertaken during bankruptcy proceedingsOther

  The owning entity entered bankruptcy after mortgage payments stopped, and building systems and the roof had deteriorated.

  What changed. A trustee arranged repairs, including replacement of roof flashings and selected slates, with Colonial Williamsburg and Virginia preservation authorities involved in oversight.

  Aftermath. The work addressed immediate deterioration while the property moved toward an auction and later transfer of ownership.

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• 2007Colonial Williamsburg chooses a protected saleStrategy

  After evaluating the property's role and operating challenges, the Foundation concluded that a sale was preferable to continued direct operation.

  What changed. The property was marketed with covenants intended to protect historic architecture, archaeology, wetlands, forests, and the James River viewshed.

  Aftermath. Halsey Minor acquired the mansion and 476 acres in December 2007, while a conservation easement covered approximately 400 acres.

  Purchase price. 15300000 (December 2007 acquisition)

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• 2003Colonial Williamsburg closes Carter's Grove to regular visitorsStrategy

  The site was distant from Colonial Williamsburg's main visitor district, attracted insufficient audiences, and did not align closely with the Foundation's principal interpretive period.

  What changed. Colonial Williamsburg ended regular public operations and shifted some interpretation to locations closer to the Historic Area.

  Aftermath. Hurricane Isabel damaged the connecting Carter's Grove Country Road later that year, making direct access and future operations more difficult.

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• 2014Colonial Williamsburg bids for Carter's Grove at auction

  Colonial Williamsburg submitted the only bid at an auction for the outstanding mortgage amount and indicated that it intended to resell the property after accounting for repairs and transaction costs. Samuel M. Mencoff subsequently acquired the estate later in 2014.

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• 2013Carter's Grove enters bankruptcy-related sale process

  After mortgage payments stopped and the owning LLC entered bankruptcy proceedings, deterioration of the roof and environmental-control systems prompted repairs overseen by preservation authorities and a trustee.

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• 2012Opposition emerges to proposed transmission line near Carter's Grove

  Dominion Virginia Power proposed a high-voltage transmission line crossing the James River toward a switching station near Carter's Grove. Preservation advocates opposed the plan because the towers could affect historic views from the estate and nearby Colonial Parkway.

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• 2007Colonial Williamsburg announces protected sale of Carter's Grove

  After a multi-year evaluation, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced that the estate would be offered for sale with conservation and historic-preservation restrictions.

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• 2007Halsey Minor acquires Carter's Grove

  Technology entrepreneur Halsey Minor acquired the mansion and 476 acres, announcing plans for private residential use and a thoroughbred breeding program.

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• 2003Carter's Grove closes to regular public visitation

  Colonial Williamsburg closed Carter's Grove as it reassessed the site's role, operating costs, visitor demand, and relationship to the main Historic Area. Hurricane Isabel later damaged the connecting Carter's Grove Country Road.

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1. Carter's Grove