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Caretakers of the Past It doesn't seem possible, but Sherwood Forest is today owned by President John Tyler's grandson, Harrison Tyler. John Tyler was 63 when he fathered his youngest son, Lyon, who in turn, at the age of 75 fathered his youngest son, the current owner, Harrison. It enables visitors to see a home remarkably unchanged by time. Few, if any, historic homes have retained as complete a collection of family furnishings, and nowhere else are you as likely to hear as many colorful anecdotes about them as you do here. You learn that when John Tyler and his wife, Julia Gardiner, moved into the White House, Congress would not allocate any funds for redecoration. The Tylers brought their own furniture to the White House and took it back to Sherwood Forest as the end of John Tyler's term in 1845. Tyler, the 10th president (1841-1845), was the first to gain office by the death of his predecessor, William Henry Harrison. This was also the first and only time neighbors followed each other into this high office, as Tyler’s home was next to Harrison’s birthplace, Berkeley Plantation (see selection). The house was under construction from 1660 to 1845. By the time it was finished its 301 foot length made it the longest frame house in America, the same length as a football field. One of the last extensions to be built was a narrow ballroom, added specifically for dancing the Virginia Reel. Sherwood Forest is the only James River plantation to have a ballroom. The long hall on the other side connecting the kitchen with the main house was called the colonnade and used as a "whistling walk,” and storage area. Legend has it that slaves carrying dishes to the dining room had to whistle as they walked, to prove they weren’t sampling the fare. According to family legend one room at Sherwood Forest is haunted by the Gray Lady. The family sitting room, known since 1840 as the Gray Room, is connected by a narrow staircase with the nursery above. The children's nurse customarily brought the youngest child downstairs to rock in front of the fireplace. When the youngster died, the devoted nurse was inconsolable. Since that time a phantom rocker has been heard at night in this room. Behind the house is a ginkgo, one of 37 tree varieties at Sherwood Forest that are not indigenous to the area. The ginkgo was brought to America by Admiral Perry when President Tyler reopened the trade routes to the Far East. The house and grounds at Sherwood Forest opened to the public on March 29, 1993, President Tyler’s 203rd birthday. Tours are given daily 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is charged. As you travel Route 5 toward Richmond you'll pass other James River Plantations. One that opened to the public in 1985 after being closed for 20 years is Evelynton. The land on which Evelynton stands was occupied by the Powhatan Indians prior to the arrival of English settlers. It became part of William Byrd's colonial holding and he gave it to his wife, Lucy Parke. It was intended to have been a dowry for their daughter, Evelyn, who died tragically after a broken romance. Evelynton was purchased in 1847 by Edmund Ruffin, Jr., son of the Confederate who fired the first shot of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in April 1861. The plantation house was burned during the Civil War. During the Peninsula Campaign in 1862, Confederate troops led by Generals J.E.B. Stuart and James Longstreet skirmished with Federal forces on Evelynton Heights. The armies returned to the James River area in 1864 in the last days of the war as the Southern army retreated from Petersburg to Richmond and Appomattox. You can still see breastworks from the 1862 confrontation below the house. Evelynton Plantation remained in the Ruffin family throughout the difficult years of Reconstruction, although Edmund Ruffin, Sr. did not choose to survive what he viewed as the indignities of Yankee domination. Ruffin fired a fatal shot and joined his dead comrades. In 1935 the current Georgian Revival house was commissioned by Mrs. John Augustine Ruffin, mother of the present owner, Edmund Saunders Ruffin. Constructed of 250-year-old bricks on the foundation of the earlier house, it certainly looks as if it had survived from colonial days. The house stands at the summit of a long cedar and dogwood allee, overlooking the meandering Herring Creek and James River. Evelynton underwent a major interior facelift in 1985. The furnishings have been collected by the Ruffin family and include period American and English pieces plus European additions from the early 20th century. You can tour the house, gardens and grounds. There is a formal English boxwood garden and a fully stocked boxwood nursery and garden center. The gift shop, in a century-old corn crib, is filled with mementos of the past, a comprehensive book section and one-of-a-kind treasures. Evelynton is open daily from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Admission is charged. Directions: From the Richmond area take I-295 east, to Exit 22A, Route 5. Take Route 5 east toward Williamsburg. Evelynton and Sherwood Forest are on the right; both are well-marked. From the Williamsburg and Virginia Beach area, take I-64 to Route 199, Exit 242, toward Jamestown. At Route 5, turn left and travel west approximately 20 miles. Both Evelynton and Sherwood Forest are on the left. RETURN TO CHAPTERS: VIRGINIA VACATIONS
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