Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 05/13/1969
NRHP Listing Date 11/12/1969
DHR's Virginia Board of Historic Resources easement
NRHP Reference Number 69000236
Mayfield Cottage, the oldest brick house in Dinwiddie County, is a classic example of formal, mid-18th-century Virginia architecture. Its distinguishing features include a clipped gable roof, symmetrical five-bay facades, and paneled interior. The earliest documented owner was Robert Ruffin, who lived here until 1769. Later it belonged to Thomas Tabb Bolling and then to the Goodwyn family. Gen. Robert E. Lee watched the final action at Petersburg from Mayfield before the retreat that ended at Appomattox. In 1882 the property became the site of Central State Mental Hospital. The house, long hidden from public view by surrounding hospital buildings, was spared demolition in 1969 when it was moved intact one mile to its present site on the edge of the hospital property. It has since been carefully restored for service as an inn.
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: February 11, 2021
