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Two totally different homes in Old Towne
Petersburg evoke the 19th century. Centre Hill, overlooking the
town, is the third hilltop home of the wealthy Bolling family. In 1823
when Robert Bolling was 64, he built Centre Hill for his fourth wife. The
architectural eclecticism of Petersburg is nowhere more evident than at
Centre Hill, built in the Federal style but remodeled twice. Robert
Buckner Bolling who inherited the house from his father in the late 1840s
added a Greek Revival look to Centre Hill. At the turn of the century,
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hall Davis purchased the house and remodeled it along
the then-popular Georgian Revival style.
It is the affluent era before the siege
of Petersburg that is recreated today at Centre Hill. Your entrance to
the house is less dramatic than it would have been in the 1850s. Entrance
is through the basement where one can view a service tunnel. This tunnel
was used as an entryway to the house by the slaves who used the basement
as a work area.
Centre Hill has some unique furnishings.
On the marble mantlepiece is a clock commemorating Lord Nelson's victory
at the Battle of the Nile.
In the dining room is the forerunner of the wet bar, a zinc sink, ideal
for wine and beverages. But it is the 24-karat, gold-trimmed dinner
service that has an interesting story. If you think you have troubles
with delivery service today, consider that it took five years for these
dishes to get here from the Minton factory in England. The ship on which
they were sent had to bypass the Union naval blockade around Petersburg.
Then the shipment had to be smuggled past Grant's forces surrounding the
city. The dishes finally were delivered during the Christmas season of
1864 and by that time there was no food to serve on them. During that
Christmas season there were only "starvation balls."
The President's Room is an upstairs bedroom
named in honor of the day in May 1909 when incumbent William Howard Taft
rested here after dedicating the
Pennsylvania Monument in
Petersburg. He was the third president to visit Centre Hill. John Tyler
visited as a personal friend of the Bollings. Abraham Lincoln stopped once
to confer with General George Z. Hartsuff when this was his Petersburg
headquarters.
You too can visit Centre Hill from 10:00
A.M. to 5:00 P.M. daily except on
major holidays. There is a charge. Parking for Centre Hill is located at
Tabb and Adams streets.
The Trapezium House, just a few
blocks away, is named for its odd shape. Its owner, Charles O'Hara, an
Irish bachelor, was a bit odd himself. There are absolutely no right angles
in his house---walls, stairs, floors, windows and even the mantles were all
set at an angle. Legend has it that O'Hara built the house in 1816 in
response to a warning from a West Indian slave that right angles harbored
evil spirits.
O'Hara kept a pet monkey, parrot and white
rats. He may well have found the animals more compatible than his
boarders. His mistrust of people is obvious from the way he numbered logs
beside the fire so that no one would steal from his stockpile. This house
at Market and High streets can be toured for a charge 10:00 A.M. to 5:00
P.M. daily except major holidays. It is also closed from October through
March.
Directions: Take I-95 to Petersburg, then
use Exit 52 onto West Washington Street into Old Towne. Turn right on S.
Sycamore and proceed to the end of the street. Then turn right for the
visitor center parking lot.
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