Hunting Quarter
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Hunting Quarter is a historic
plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and ...
located near Sussex Court House,
Sussex County, Virginia Sussex County is a rural county (United States), county located in the southeast of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 10,829. Its county seat is Sussex, ...
. The main house was built between 1745 and 1772, and is a -story, five-bay, single-pile, center hall, frame dwelling. It has a gambrel roof with dormers and exterior end chimneys. Attached to the main section is a rear ell added in 1887, and two small porches added in the 20th century. Also on the property are a contributing
smokehouse A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is curing (food preservation), cured with Smoking (cooking), smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.Benjamin Harrison IV of
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...
. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> During the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
, Captain Harrison was stationed at
Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne ( , ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed ...
, he served as a captain under Major General
Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...
and later under Lieutenant Colonel
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
. Captain Harrison was a brother of
Benjamin Harrison V Benjamin Harrison V (April 5, 1726April 24, 1791) was an American planter, merchant, and politician who served as a legislator in colonial Virginia, following his namesakes' tradition of public service. He was a signer of the Continental Asso ...
, signer of the
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
and the fifth
Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...
. Captain Harrison was a breeder of
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
horses. Silver Heels, perhaps his most famous
race horse ''Race Horse'' was an 1850 clipper barque. She set a record of 109 days from New York to San Francisco during the first Clipper Race around the Horn. Construction ''Race Horse'' was similar to a barque built by Samuel Hall a few years earlier, ...
, was listed among other Thoroughbreds in the inventory of his estate taken after his death in 1772. According to tradition, a walking cane that belonged to US President
William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...
, a nephew of the builder, once hung over one of the mantels in the house. Captain Harrison is buried in the Harrison family cemetery on the property. "Hunting Quarter" remained in the
Harrison family The Harrison family of Virginia has a history in American politics, public service, and religious ministry, beginning in the Colony of Virginia during the 1600s. Family members include a Founding Father of the United States, Benjamin Harrison V, ...
until 1887. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1995. The fields surrounding Hunting Quarter were planted in
longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...
s in the early 2010s.


References

Plantation houses in Virginia Harrison family (Virginia) Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses completed in 1772 National Register of Historic Places in Sussex County, Virginia Houses in Sussex County, Virginia African-American cemeteries in Virginia {{SussexCountyVA-NRHP-stub