Brandon Plantation was originally the Halifax County homestead of the Brandon family, who settled here in the mid-18th century. The present house, a two-part vernacular dwelling, was built in 1800 and enlarged ca. 1842. The plain but forthright country Greek Revival mantels and stair in the later section are attributed to Thomas Day, a well-known black cabinetmaker of nearby Milton, North Carolina. Day, whose shop produced a wealth of furniture and architectural trim, has achieved national attention as a symbol of successful black entrepreneurship in a time and region where the majority of African Americans were enslaved. An equally important feature at Brandon Plantation is the rare, carefully restored ca. 1800 kitchen/slave house with its unusual extended cornice. The building is an example of the fast-disappearing service structures that once were a ubiquitous feature of the Southern agrarian landscape.
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
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia