Routinely, a stay at this Charles City County plantation begins with a tour of the house and grounds conducted by Ridgely Copland, a farmer’s wife and a nurse (once named Virginia nurse of the year). Along the way Ridgely points out Union breastworks from 1864, wild as-paragus, herds ofdeer, a swamp, and the wide James River. This is a well-main-tamed working farm, and the Coplands are salt-of-the-earth people striving to keep their 850 acres intact in the face of modern agricultural dilemmas.
North Bend, on the National Register of Historic Places and also a Virginia His-toric Landmark, was built for Sarah Harrison, sister of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president, who died in of-fice having served just one month. It’s a fine example of the Academic Greek Re-vival style, a wide white-frame structure with a black-and-green roof and a slender chimney at each corner. Built in 1819 with a classic two-over-two layout, large center hall, and Federal mantels and stair carvings, it was remodeled in 1853 according to Asher Benjamin designs. But beyond its architectural distinctions, North Bend is drenched in history. The Sheridan Room, the premier guest bedroom, represents both sides of the Civil War. It contains a walnut desk used by the Union general Philip Sheridan, complete with his labels on the pigeonholes. A copy of his map was found in one of its drawers and is now laminated for guests’ viewing. The room’s tester bed belonged to Edmund Ruffin, the ardent Confederate who fired the first shot of the war at Ft. Sumter. The headboard is a reproduction; a Yankee cannonball in 1864 spun-tered its predecessor. The Federal Room has a new iron-and-brass bed.
|