Belle Air Plantation

Belle Air Plantation is an estate located on the north bank of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia, USA. It is located along State Route 5, a scenic byway which runs between the independent cities of Richmond and Williamsburg. Belle Air is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Construction

Belle Air is a unique surviving example of a wooden house with postmedieval-style exposed interior timber framing. It is probably the oldest plantation dwelling along State Route 5. Daniel Clark purchased the Belle Air tract in 1662. The original five-bay portion of Belle Air possesses architectural details characteristic of seventeenth century construction with a floor plan and façade fenestration characteristic of 18th-century design. The post medieval-style exposed interior timber framing is the only example found in a frame building in Virginia. The hand-hewn timbers serve as both structural framing and decorative woodwork. Summer beams, which run through the center of the ceilings into the chimneys, serve as the principal supporting members for the floor joists above.

History

Belle Air remained in the Clark family through the eighteenth century. The property was purchased by Hamlin Willcox, a prosperous Charles City County planter, in 1800 and he added the three-bay western portion of the house. The house remained in the Willcox family, which also owned nearby North Bend Plantation at the time of the Civil War, until 1945. Belle Air was restored by the current owner, Mrs. Walter O. Major.

Visitation

The house is open for guided tours during Historic Garden Week and by appointment.

ee also

*James River plantations

External links

* [http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/jamesriver/bel.htm/ Belle Air Plantation - National Park Service, National Register Travel Itinerary]
* [http://www.jamesriverplantations.com/belleair.htm Belle Air Plantation - information from James River Plantation]