Kittiewan Plantation In The 21st Century
Where Does Kittiewan Go From Here?
Kittiewan Plantation had been in private ownership over 350 years until 2005. In that year, the Archeological Society of Virginia became the Trustee of the property and administers it.
One might think the ownership of a James River plantation is an "easy street" proposition. One would be wrong. A building constructed over 240 years ago presents a set of unique challenges, as does administering the property that goes with it and the people who have lived on it for years.
Kittiewan was first and foremost a home to the Cropper family and it was a working farm. It had tenants, lessees and upkeep. There was a measure of continuity from Bill Cropper's wishes made known to us.
First of all, Kittiewan needed an inventory of what it had. One cannot just take over a willed property before the legal issues are settled. Then we needed to know what it was we owned in detail rather than as a whole. We thought we knew the gross outlines of ownership as in how many buildings were on the property, but what we think was the last was discovered in 2009!
Bill Cropper was a steward of history. He kept all of his history. And by that, we mean every scrap of paper down to receipts for purchases of a loaf of bread at the local store in 1964 and Valentines sent to Wilma Cropper by her piano students. Sorting through a hundred years of one family's history stacked rafter deep in several barns is a daunting and ongoing task that is still incomplete after 5 years. As a museum, we have a responsibility to know what we own. Cataloging the pieces is one part of the process. Deciding what to do with them is another task that takes time to do correctly.
We began working on the mansion to turn it into a tourist destination and house museum. This meant that we had to prioritize what stayed and what was moved out of the house. The house itself has had 3 coats of paint since it was built. Bill Cropper had not painted it because of that. But, the paint is cracking, crizzling and peeling in places. As it is such an important house, expert advice was sought from Colonial Williamsburg, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and others as to the procedures, processes and the materials by which the house could be maintained.
Nothing lasts forever, including a roof. Kittiewan had two different roof types. When it became evident that the roof had been leaking for years and had been slowly damaging part of the structure, we had to replace the roof. So, do we replace the roof with modern materials, period specific materials, modern materials that look like period specific materials or what? These decisions are typical for the care of one of America's historic treasures.
Replacing the roof lead to the discovery that the eastern wing had a matching western wing. The roofline clearly showed the characteristic "^" of the wing roof footprint where it joined the mansion house roof. Was the east wing built at the same time as the west wing? If so, then both should have been bonded in the foundation walls. That is exactly what we found, although the west wing only had a small remnant, but for the intrepid few who braved the crawl space and the spiders, it was event that the west wing was an integral part of the house. To say that this was unexpected was to put it mildly. The west wing was removed, probably when the 1840's porch and extra room on the back were built.
Through the generosity of life member Bill Cropper, the Archeological Society of Virginia was given Kittiewan Plantation in Charles City County. Kittiewan today is a working farm with a new museum built by Mr. Cropper. It is the ASV headquarters and base of operations. Stewardship of the house and surrounding 720 acres is administered by the ASV. The museum houses the collections of Mr. Cropper including an extensive set of 19th and 20th century kitchen and food preparation items. The museum also has a Visitor Center and Gift Shop.The ASV is a member of the Society for American Archaeology, the Virginia Association of Museums, the Eastern States Archaeological Federation, and the Preservation Alliance of Virginia.
THe ASV has Type collections of prehistoric and historic artifacts, an extensive archaeological library and houses the Virginia Archeological Resource Center (VARC) dedicated to the study of Virginia archaeology and to the education of the public regarding archaeological matters.