Built for the planter Joseph Jordan, this small brick-ended farmhouse with its distinctive architectural detailing typifies the moderate sized southeastern Virginia plantation house of the late 18th century. It belongs to a group of architecturally related houses in the Blackwater River area of Isle of Wight County that represent the first flush of prosperity for the middling planters who settled here. A singular feature of these houses is the long shed dormer that lights the top floor, used instead of the more standard dormers. The later additions on the Joseph Jordan House, the outbuildings, and the 150-acre tract complete the picture of a typical 19th century farmstead of the region. The property has been known variously as Jordan’s or Boykin’s Quarter, the Hattie Barlow Moody farm, as well as Dews Plantation.