Ever wonder what the old Stone Clubhouse used
to be? Well the main part of the plantation was
built in the 1790’s for Dr. Wilson Cary
Seldon, with the Overseer’s House, known
to us as the clubhouse, being added before the
turn of the century. On June 17th, 1856 at 12
o’clock the plantation, 1,720 acres and
the overseer’s house were put up for sale.
The 1855 wheat harvest had sold for $10,600 and
the corn crop yielded 8,850 bushels. Four hundred
acres were timberland and the rest agricultural.
The property being described as “A large
dwelling house with a location of unsurpassed
beauty and all the necessary out-buildings of
brick, a good Two-Story Stone Overseer’s
House and comfortable brick quarters for at least
50 servants, one of stone and one of wood, a
brick carriage house and stabling for 40 horses”.
I’m glad I didn’t have to cut the
grass.
Exeter was one of the largest complexes of plantation
buildings in the area. The main house being an
amalgam of Federal-derived forms and motifs,
with several roof types blending into a seven
part plan. The stone house was much simpler.
A two story red sandstone/fieldstone building
that has had several additions over the years.
Outbuildings in the back, the front porch, a
side porch where the patio now stands, and several
sheds were added over the years
While obviously the estate was well established
during the Civil War, I have not been able to
find any particular information regarding Exeter
during that time. With it’s close proximity
to Ball’s Bluff and other battle grounds
nearby, it must have been involved heavily as
is had a good supply of food, horses and grazing
fields.
The property passed through the hands of many
illustrious persons. Eleanor Selden married John
Augustine Washington in 1842 who sold it on to
General George Rust, at public auction. Last
known resident sale was in 1967 before it was
sold to developers. It suffered a devastating
fire in 1980 rendering it uninhabitable, it was
finally deconstructed and rebuilt in 1990 into
the building we know today. Our plan is to improve
the porch and repaint the trim in addition to
landscaping.
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