p. DESCRIPTION I 7 (ch.sk On.) 1 Excellent @ Good Foir Oet.,iop+.d Ruins Unexpos.d 1 CONDITION I (check one) I (check onel Altered 1x1 Unalt.r.d O MOV.~ & Oripinol Sit. DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IIholun) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE Bremo Plantation contains nearly a dozen structures of architectural interest and sighificance. Chief among these is the principal residence, Upper Bremo, a five-section brick structure in the Palladian style popularized in the area by Thomas Jefferson. The central hlock of the house'is two stories on the enltrahcel ~cadeand one story on an English basement on the river front. The hbuse was originally cbvered by a flat roof of ridge and valley construction used so frequently by Mr. Jefferson As this type of roof leaked badly, it was replaced with the present hippe roof by General John Hartwell Cocke not many years after the house was completed. Upper Bremo ~ontainsmany other architectural features so often associated with Jefferson's work, especially with the use of the Tuscan prder in the portico, loggia, and side porches, the Chinese lattic railings on the esplanades, and the changes of ground level from one side of the comlex to the other. The interior of Bremo also exhibits many Jeffersonian features such as the very hish ceilings tn the principal rooms, bed alcoves, narrow staircases, upstairs rooms with low ceilings, and a generous use of full entablatures and pedimented doorways in the principal rooms. The oak graining kund on the woodwork of all the principal rooms except the parlor is thought to be the original finish. Upper Bremo has been with remarkably few changes and is currently undergoing a long-term renovation. Even the original benches in the schoolroom in one of the end pavilions remain. The outbuildings just to the east of the east end pavilion also survive in a good state of repair. Other structures located on the Upper Bremo tract include the massive and unusual stone barn with its %scan portiuo, brick dnessings, and central cupola. Adjacent to the barn is the stone and brick milk house with its high hipped roof and central pediment, and the large stable which also features the stone and brick construction of the buildings associated with General Cocke. Southeast of the house at the foot of the bluff is the Temperance monument, a stone Greek Doric pevilion di-style in antis. Although the monument has been moved from its original location on the James River and Kanawha Canal, the setting has been carefully reproduced; the monument. now overlooks a long basin near the opposite end of which is the large pitcher-shaped iron urn through which poured water from the spring. Other buildings connected with Upper Bremo are the two rare pise sla quarters comstructed under the supervision of General Cocke and the board and batten slave chapel. 1 'lho other groups of buildings, Bremeo Recess and Lower Bremo make up the remainder of the Bremo Historic District. Bremo Recess, originally constructed in ca. 1803-1809 was enlarged and redesigned ca. 1844 in the Jacobean style about the same time that Lower Bmmo was being built. Bre1 Recess, according to General Cocke was "copied from . The well remembgred pld ~jikchimney bouse in Williamsbuffg, once the property of the Custis ami y and Bacon s Castle in Surry. Bremo Recess is curpiform in plan I.SIGNIF~CANCE PEnroo (check One orMor. a. APProPrl.la1 IJ Pm-Celurnblon' 0 16th Century 18th Cenrwy 0 ?Oth C.ntury 15th Century 'J 17th Century gX 19th C~A,$~~~ rPrClF, c DATEIS) (11 Applls.bl. endXnom) . AREAS OF SIONIFICINCE fCh.skOn. 0rMor.a. Approp.1.1.) Abor ipinol Educotlar Politico1 U Utbon Plennlne a Pr.hlntorlc Enqln..rlnq R.llqlon/Pha. 0th.r iSp*elb) Hislorlc Industry Ionophy History Aprlcultun 0 1nv.ntion [J Ssienc. 0 A~chlastur. 0 Lond*eep. 0 Ssulptur. PB Art AvchIt.ctur. Soctol/Humon- 0 Commrrs. [J Lit.r.tur. ,torla" a Camunicotien, 0 Malttory Theotnr n MUSNC Transportatmn STATrHENT OF SI~NIFICANCE NATIONAL HI=- * 1 OR!C Lp,ND~plf General John Hartwell Cocke (1780-1866), note P anter, soldier and I 1 reformer, was a man of great importance in.ante-belium Virginia. A graduat ( of the College of William and Mary (1794-99), Cocke spent his life in the m 1 various reform movements of the first half of the 19th century. During Z I the War of 18i2 he entered the army as a captain and within 18 months had 0 1 emerged as a brigadier general. After the war he settled into his routine I - 1 of managing his extensive land holdings in Fluvanna County and in furtheri I- his reform goals. He advanced many revolutionary agricultural ideas and U vigorously attacked the practice of making tobacco the main crop of He was equally outspoken onthe subject of slavery and served as senior 3 vice-president of the American Colonization Society from its creation in K 1819 until his death. He was a leading temperance leader of the period, - I- aerving as president of the American Temperance Union in 1836. A strong - believer in public education, Cocke not only supported Mr. Jefferson in the z formation of the University of Virginia but was also a member of the Board - of Visitors for 33 yelars from 1819 until 1852. It has been stated that Cocke "without being either a prig or a Puritan, . .was a zealous w I yet even those who impugned his principles admired his sincerity, catholic W benevolence, and alertness to civic responsibility. The causes which he v, 1 supported indicate him to have been one of the most remarkable 8 of his generation in power of foresight, a pioneer of modern social General Cocke first moved from his home in Surry County to his property in Fluvanna County about 1803. He named his property in Fluvanna in honor of the old Cocke family home in Henrico County. While Upper Bremo, the main residence,was being built, General Cocke and his family made their home at Bremo Recess, a small frame house which Cocke substantially rebuilt in its present Jacobean form circa 1844. About the same time General Cocke enlarged Bremo Recess, he also sub- stantially rebuilt another small house on the property, Lower Bremo, adding to it Jacobean embellishments similar to those on Bremo Recess. Lower Bremc was rebuilt for General ~ocke'sson Cary, but Cocke made it his own residence for the last 12 years of his life. In 1918-1919 the interior of the house was completely remodeled. For the design of Upper Bremo, Cocke sought the advice of both friends and professionals amon whom were Thomas Jefferson and a Richmond architect named Conneley. hile the resulting mansion contains many of the architec- 1 tural forms and devices found in Mr. Jefferson'w work, the final architect - r9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Kimball, Fiske, "The Building of Bremo," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 57, no. 1 (January 1949), p. 13. Waterman, Thomas T., The Mansions of Virginia (New York, 1945), p. 45. Gaines, William H., Jr., "A Home Dedicated to Service," Virginia Cavalcade, vol. VI, no. 2 (Autumn 1956), pp. 20-29. Bodine, A. Aubrey, The Face of Virginia (Baltimore, 1967), p. 140. Deed Book 25. Fluvanna County Court House, pp. 181-182. Deed Book 69, Fluvanna County Court House, p. 180. Hamlin, Talbot, Greek Revival Architecture in America (London, 19447, 17-18. Dictionary of American Bi b.--- GEOGR~PHICAL_DATA - --- - LATITUDE *NO LONGITUDE COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEF'N'NG CENTER ''INT OF A DEFlCllNG RECTkNCLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY 0 R OF LESS THAN TFN ACHED CORNER LATITUDE LONGlTUDE LlTlTUDE LONG1 TUDE De re=$ Manutss Secmnds De ree. Mlnvtes seconds Degrees Mlnutet Sacondr Degrees Munuts. Seconds NW 37045 . 00 . 7%. 20. 46. D 0 " NE 37- 45 . 00 " 78 o 17 32:'1 SE 37-42 * 37 - 780 17, 32. sw 37042 . 37 . 780 20. 46. APPHOXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY-- -1,500 acres m \LIST ILL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OYERLI\~P,NG ~TATEOR COUNTY aOUNoAR'ES m rn I I I 1 CODE I COUNTY: CODL n I 111, Architect DATE 4 Archeology and Historic Preservation, mS. Nat&n&Park_Ssrvi~e 1971 - 0 STATE m Washington D.C. 12. STATE LIAISON OcFICER CERTIFICAIION 1 NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION As the designated State Liaison Officer far the Na- 1 hereby certify that this proprty is included in the tional Historic Prenervation Act of 1966 (Public Law Natimal Register. 89.h65). 1 hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and cerlify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procebres set forth by the Nattonal Park Service. The recommended Chief, Office ol ~~chcologyand Hisloric Preservation level of signilicance of this nomination is: National 0 State 0 Local Date Name ATTEST: Title I I Keeper of Thc Nafimnl Register I 1 mte Gate Form 10-3M)o UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Virginia NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES soUNTY Fluvanna INVENTORY NOMINATION FORM - FOR NPS USE ONLY ENTRY NUMBER (Continuation Sheet) I I (Numb*, .I1 .nl.l..) 7. Description': (1') Bremo' Recess, and' lower Brel~io(Bremo Historic Dist.) with curvilinear end gables, ad diagonally,set chimney @tacks. The central section of the front elevation has an encmlosed entrance porch with three pointed arch bays. Above, in the decorated gable is an enclosed room. The interior of Bremo Recess, perhaps remaining from the first early-19th century house is neo-classical in style. The principal feature is a triple arched "screen" dividing the wid, central hall.