037-0038

Mount Bernard Complex

VLR Listing Date

12/01/2004

NRHP Listing Date

01/20/2005

NRHP Reference Number

04001537

The main house of the Mount Bernard Complex, built circa 1850, is a fine example of antebellum domestic architecture and progressive Classical Revival updates. The entire complex is significant as a continuing agricultural and equestrian operation; it also encapsulates the 20th-century tradition of rural plantations becoming the grand estates of the nation’s wealthy. Coca-Cola magnate Robert W. Woodruff purchased Mount Bernard in the 1920s and then enlarged the main house, added substantial barns, and developed the complex as a model farm and country house. In addition to the residence, the 58-acre Goochland County site consists of two secondary dwellings, a former slave quarters/ kitchen, an icehouse and cool chamber, a large barn/stable, two smaller stables, a corncrib, an equipment shelter, and a well house. The residence is a stucco, two-story brick building with a three-bay Greek Ionic portico. T. Brady Saunders, known in Virginia for his work with the Boy Scouts, purchased Mount Bernard from Woodruff in the 1940s.

Last Updated: November 22, 2023

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

For additional information Read

Nomination Form

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