In this 23-minute video featuring Dr. Garrison Brown, Board Member and Pear Valley Overseer, takes us on a tour of the historic Pear Valley property. Pear Valley represents what was once a common building in the rural landscape of the Chesapeake region. The yeoman planter’s cottage has been dated to 1740.

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In 2013, Pear Valley was designated as a National Historic Landmark and became one of only 2,596 landmarks in the entire U.S., 121 Virginia, and two in Northampton County. This places Pear Valley in the company of Virginia’s Monticello, Montpelier, and Bacon’s Castle as a property officially recognized by the U.S. government for its national historic significance.

 

The 20-by-16-foot structure is a one-room, open or hall-plan house with a loft that was eventually subdivided into two rooms. Its survival as a 2nd generation Chesapeake house was due in part to its construction on a brick frame foundation instead of the “earth fast” or post in the ground homes used by early settlers. Another factor in retaining its historical integrity was that it was used by one family, and Nottingham/Widgeon’s for 200 years.

 

The quality of craftsmanship at Pear Valley can be seen by its architectural elements. These include the Flemish bond chimney that features glazed headers in a Chevron pattern, a treatment employed in well-crafted buildings through the first half of the 18th century. A false plate was used to carry the rafters and the interior exposed beams showcase chamfered edges and hand-wrought nails. Learn how Pear Valley has survived for almost three centuries and see the architectural elements that make it important to historians and scholars.