Kittiewan has something for all ages and for all interests, provided it's old!!
Things to see at Kittiewan
- The Mansion House Ground Floor has some of the finest interior paneling in the country. For a house of its size and exterior appearance, that being of a middling frame built, clapboarded farmhouse of the 18th century, the interior is unparalleled and upon seeing it for the first time, it does shock for the contrast. The Georgian paneling has had only three coats of paint since it was built. It looks a bit tatty as we haven't yet decided how to proceed. See the page about the 21st century for more details.
- The Mansion House Top Floor has displays a standard 18th to 20th century set of bedrooms. Memorabilia from Wilma Cropper is also on display. The area under one window is open so that the framing can be seen. Normally this would be hidden behind walls. The interior framing and the walls are very much a part of the history of the evolution of the house where examination has shown alterations to the house that cannot be seen otherwise.
- The Mansion Grounds have the remnants of a formal garden that we are investigating with a view towards restoration. The grounds also have traces of former buildings. The depression off the NE corner of the house is a former office for the owner. It was the subject of the 2010 ASV Summer Field School.
Plantations tried to be generally self-sufficient by growing their own produce in their gardens, and livestock in their fields. A decorative formal garden was also typical wherein the more rigid Georgian layout was the norm. In the garden, flowers and other blooming plants were situated and were chosen to provide a full seasonal range of blooms. The blooms were used for interior decoration. Herb gardens were also quite common, sometimes as separate mini-gardens or within the larger formal garden. - The Visitor's Center houses the ASV Headquarters with our extensive archaeological library and collections of prehistoric artifacts. These are on display in the museum along with items that Mr. Cropper accumulated in his lifetime. There is also a giftshop within.
- Civil War earthworks cross the property at a diagonal several hundred yards north of the Manor compound. General U.S. Grant's Army of the Potomac had started near Fredericksburg in 1864 with a mandate from President Lincoln to end the war. Grant hammered at General R. E. Lee in a series of battles in which Lee deflected Grant from Richmond, always moving south and east.
At the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant disengaged his entire army and moved it much farther south and east to the Weyanoke peninsula upon which Kittiewan sits. Pontoon bridges were built across the James River and the entire Army of the Potomac crossed, all without Lee having any idea where Grant was or what he was doing. His objective was to attack Petersburg.
The earthworks at Kittiewan were built in order to protect the vulnerable right flank and rear of Grants army. These earthworks spanned from Mapsico Creek on the East to Queen's Creek on the west and are mentioned in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion (OR). These are very fragile earthworks and must not be walked upon or touched. - The Rickman Family Cemetery is set in the woods to the west of the entrance road several hundred yards north past the earthworks. How many graves are in the bricked in area is unknown, nor is it known if the brick walls surround all of the burials. We suspect not as depressions exist outside the walls. The first Surgeon General of the United States, William Rickman, was buried in 1783 in the cemetery which also has members of his family.
- In 1982 to 1984 the ASV with the Virginia Canals and Navigations Society excavated several score canal boats and thousands of associated artifacts from the James Center in downtown Richmond. The Great Basin of the James River & Kanawha Canal was the eastern terminus for a canal that George Washington envisioned to open up the west which in that time was the Trans-Allegheny. Artifacts from this excavation are stored at Kittiewan in the barn to the east of the Manor and at other locations on the property. We have two of only three surviving Packet Boat hulls from Virginia's Canal Era. We hope to have these on display soon.
Interior Paneling