Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 12/16/1975
NRHP Listing Date 05/28/1976
NRHP Reference Number 76002103
The Dinwiddie County plantation house of Mansfield is one of a group of noteworthy dwellings associated with Roger Atkinson (1725-1798), a Petersburg tobacco merchant and land speculator. Atkinson purchased the property in the 1760s and apparently added the two-story section to an existing early-18th-century story-and-a-half dwelling. During the 1830s Mansfield was owned by Hugh A. Garland, who operated a girls’ school here and was also a biographer of John Randolph of Roanoke. With its ambitious interior woodwork and unusual form, Mansfield is one of several neighboring rural plantation dwellings that bear the mark of highly accomplished craftsmen. The drawing room paneling and the Georgian stair are some of the finest colonial woodwork in the county. Mansfield’s historic setting was significantly compromised in late in the 20th century when scores of small houses were built on the surrounding fields.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: July 13, 2022
