Rosemont was built in 1898 by C.L. Dodd, the architect who in 1895 designed the St. Francis de Sales Institute, a residential Catholic school for African American girls in Powhatan County. It was erected across the road from the school, and the two buildings display similar details such as stained-glass windows and ornately carved double front doors and interior wainscoting. While the school was under construction, Dodd and his wife, Rosezilla, made their home at Rosemont, which they named Hardscrabble. The house is an excellent example of the Queen Anne style in Powhatan County, though some of its features are unusual for Virginia and may reflect Dodd’s possible northern background, though little is known about him. The Meacham family bought the property in 1901 and renamed it Rosemont; they also established a small cemetery, which includes six family members.
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
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