The Bower

Infobox_nrhp | name =The Bower
nrhp_type =


caption =
nearest_city= Leetown, West Virginia
lat_degrees = 39
lat_minutes = 21
lat_seconds = 54
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 77
long_minutes = 57
long_seconds = 27
long_direction = W
locmapin = West Virginia
area =
built =1805
architect=
architecture= Gothic Revival, Federal
added = April 15, 1982cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Private
refnum=82004321

The Bower is a Federal style building that was remodeled with Gothic Revival features after a fire in 1892. The name appeared as early as 1753 when Major General Adam Stephen had a hunting lodge at this location. A land grant from Lord Fairfax, Stephen lived at "Bower Lodge" from 1753 to 1772, when he moved to his residence in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the town he founded. The Bower was given to his daughter Ann Stephen and her husband Alexander Spottswood Dandridge, whose first cousin was Martha Dandridge Custis Washington. The property passed to Stephen's only grandchild, Adam Stephen Dandridge I, in 1791. Dandridge built the main house in 1806. In 1833 The Bower passed to Adam Stephen Dandridge II.

During the American Civil War, Major General J.E.B. Stuart set up a headquarters at The Bower at Adam Stephen Dandridge II's invitation. His staff included Generals Wade Hampton and Fitzhugh Lee, as well as staff officer Heros von Borcke from September 28, 1862, to October 10, 1862. A horse bred at The Bower was given as a gift to General Lee to use when his primary mount, "Traveler," needed a rest. That horse was the well known "Lucy Long."

In the early 20th century the house became a summer home for Bishop Edmund Pendleton Dandridge, Episcopal Bishop on Tennessee. The property remains in the same family today.

Novelist John Pendleton Kennedy visited The Bower in 1832, and based his novel "Swallow Barn" on his views of the estate. Danske Bedinger Dandridge, the wife of Adam Stephen Dandridge III lived at The Bower for a time before moving to Rose Brake. Her poetry appeared in The Century and Harpers.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/jefferson/82004321.pdf National Register of Historic Places Nomination: The Bower] |3.79 MB|date=November 1, 1981 |author=Michael J. Pauley|publisher=National Park Service]

References