From the earliest days of settlement in the Piedmont, the Green Springs area in Louisa County has been known for its exceptional fertility, prosperity, and beauty. Its farms, buildings, and families represent many generations of agricultural, architectural, and social history. Contrasted with the surrounding hilly land with its thin soil and scrub woodlands, this 14,000 acre bowl, a geological formation that defines Green Springs, is composed of lush, rolling pastures. First settled in the 1720s by Tidewater families, the area takes its name from a mineral spring that served as a spa during the late 18th century. Two families in particular built a number of plantation houses here. Morrises built or extended Green Springs, Sylvania, Hawkwood, and Grassdale. The Watson family places include Ionia, Bracketts, and Westend. These and numerous other buildings form an assemblage of rural architecture of outstanding variety and quality embellishing the gently civilized countryside that is the hallmark of the Green Springs Historic District.