Sweet Briar House
The big,
yellow house that is so familiar on campus today went through many changes in
its lifetime. When the original farmhouse was built is unknown, most likely in
the early 1800s, although it is known that it was built by the Crews/Crouse
family and auctioned off in 1830 as Locust Ridge. Elijah Fletcher, of course,
bought this house and the surrounding plantation and renovated it into an
Italian Villa. This renovation was of great interest to his two daughters,
Elizabeth and Indiana. He also mentions in his letters that he hires white
workers for the first time to complete this job. The two, three story towers
were added on during renovation, as well as the balcony that spans the front of
the house, and the yellow paint. Mostly, the house’s design has been untouched
since 1851, although the main entrance had to be redone after a fire in 1927.
http://www.tusculum.sbc.edu/SweetBriarPlantation/NationalRegister_SweetBriarHouse.pdf
http://www.tusculum.sbc.edu/SweetBriarPlantation/history_FletcherLetters.shtml
Signora Hollins
Very little
is known about the African American individuals who lived at Sweet Briar before
and after the war. One individual we do know about is Signora Hollins who came
to Sweet Briar as a young girl in 1874. Her Aunt had been hired as a cook for
the Williams. Signora recalls her time at Sweet Briar as very isolated. She was
friends with the only other person her age: Daisy. After Daisy’s death she
moved to the north, but returned years later. She has been present during two
famous encounters with Sweet Briar ghosts. She claimed to have seen Miss. Indie
many times while she was a cook at Sweet Briar. In 1916, Miss Indie apparently
told her that the silver was hidden in the walls of one of the bedrooms. Sure
enough, there was silver there. Signora was also on campus during the
dedication of the Daisy Williams Gym, when the medallion of Daisy was found.
She died in 1954 at the age of 88.
http://www.tusculum.sbc.edu/africanamericans/bio_SHollins.shtml
Barefoot, Daniel
W. Haunted Halls of Ivy: Ghosts of
Southern Colleges and Universities. John F. Blair, Sept. 5, 2004. Pg. 172.
Web. http://books.google.com/books?id=Jk1G91Gp2CIC&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=%22Signora+Hollins%22&source=bl&ots=UB3FFx_7cY&sig=aOLBo65-F2wGYdTgGbVnU3-I-PI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ifeqULO5DKiy0AGJ64C4Cg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Signora%20Hollins%22&f=false
What Did Sweet Briar Produce?
Often plantations are thought to produce only one crop. At
Sweet Briar, and many other plantations, however, a large number of crops were
produced. The main ones Elijah mentions in his letters are corn, wheat, and
tobacco. The plantation was also home to a multitude of animals. There were
riding horses, carriage horses, plow horses, cattle which migrated from mountain
pastures to Sweet Briar pastures throughout the year, chickens and ducks kept
by Elizabeth, and pigs. These animals were fed some of the corn harvested at
Sweet Briar. Most crops were sold in Lynchburg, though Elijah took care to
always have a good supply on the plantation for his family and slaves. Animals
were also slaughtered in the middle of each month, some meat was sold and some
went to members of Elijah’s family, such as his brother Timothy. It is evident
through Elijah’s detailed letters that the prices of these commodities were
constantly shifting based on scarcity. Sometimes a wet summer or early freeze
drove prices up, while nice growing seasons kept the prices down.
http://www.tusculum.sbc.edu/SweetBriarPlantation/history_FletcherLetters.shtml
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