Nomination Form
Originally patented in 1638 to Elizabeth Grayne, and farmed as a separate unit for nearly three and a half centuries, Hardens is a James River estate that formerly served as a subsidiary farm, or quarter, of Shirley plantation. The Charles City County property was at one time called Hardings, and also Hardings Landing. An 1818 survey and plat shows a dwelling in the approximate location of the present house. A typical example of mid-19th-century Virginia’s rural vernacular architecture, the main part of the existing frame house was erected in 1846 by Hill Carter, of Shirley, for his son Lewis Warrington Carter, and may incorporate sections of an earlier structure. Hardens was acquired by David Walker Haxall in 1852 to supply lumber for his family’s extensive Richmond milling operations. During the Civil War the place served as a Union communications station and camp for Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan in 1862.
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
Nomination Form
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
