CHATHAM
Sponsored by the Chatham Garden Club
Sunday, April 20, 1 to 6 p.m.
Co-Chairmen:
Eleanor Thompson (Mrs. Stephen)
207 Peach Street
Chatham, VA 24531
Telephone (434) 432-1011
Email: eft_207@yahoo.com
Staci Wall (Mrs. Andrew)
P.O. Box 1127
Chatham, VA 24531
Telephone (434) 432-8875
Email: drewandstaci@msn.com
FULL TICKET: $10, single-house admission $4. A child under 12 years, free admission when accompanied by an adult. Tickets may be purchased on day of tour at any site. Tickets may be purchased in advance for an additional charge by accessing www.VAGardenweek.org.
REFRESHMENTS: 1813 Clerks Office, located behind Chatham Town Hall, 16 Court Place. Restrooms available here.
FLOWER ARRANGING DEMONSTRATION: See Picnic Pavilion notation, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. by popular floral designer Bee Sieburg.
DIRECTIONS:
The Motley Home: 4740 Payneton Road, Chatham. From
N. Main St., drive northeast on Chalk Level Rd. (Rt. 685) 5 mi. OR from
Rt. 29 north of Chatham, drive east on Payneton Rd. (Rt. 649) for 5 mi.
The Yeatts Home: 1842 Chalk Level Road, Chatham. From N. Main St., drive northeast on Chalk Level Rd. (Rt. 685) for 2 mi. OR driving south on Rt. 29 Bypass, use 2nd Chatham exit, left 1 mi. on Rt. 685.
Streetcar: 19 South Main Street, Chatham. Main St. is Rt. 29 Business, use any of four exits from Rt. 29 Bypass
1813 Clerks Office & Town Park: 16 Court Place, Chatham. From Main St., drive east on Court Place one block, walk to the back of Town Hall.
The Swanberg Home: 4840 Spring Garden Road, Chatham. From S. Main St., drive east on Halifax Rd. (Rt. 57) for 8.3 mi., right on Spring Garden Rd. (Rt. 640) for 4 mi. From Danville, drive north on Rt. 29, right on Rt. 640 for 6 mi. OR drive south on Rt. 29. Use 3rd exit, left on Rt. 57 for 7 mi., right on Rt. 640 for 6 mi.
Houses need not be visited in the order listed.
MOTLEY HOME, 4740 Payneton Road, Chatham. (See
directions above.) This charming house has experienced a remarkable
transformation from old church to updated residence, while still preserving
some of the fine character of the original structure. In 1999, the
two-story white clapboard house was relocated across a pre-Revolutionary
stage coach roadway, “Hickey’s Road,” adjacent to the
same crossroads in Pittsylvania County where it was built 1902-06 from
neighborhood trees. The interior structure of Sheva Christian Church
has been so uniquely adapted to its present use that the sanctuary’s
ceiling light fixtures remain in the great room as originally hung. The
wall mural from a Sunday School classroom is one of few features that remain
to recognize its previous use by an active congregation. A foyer
and three bedrooms were cleverly created, along with four main rooms that
contain old oak floors, among other refurbishments with innovative uses
of additional wood reclaimed from a century-old store building of the Chalk
Level community. A large fireplace is fashioned from native field
stone gathered from surrounding meadows and fields.
Added interests include framed art with other mementoes collected on
extensive trips around the world, attractively integrated among heirloom furniture
and family artifacts. Also reflecting the Motleys’ talents in creating
their retirement home are the scenic views captured of their rural setting,
including a fish pond in the yard. Open for the first time. Mr.
and Mrs. J. Fuller Motley, owners
Chatham—Yeatts Home
YEATTS HOME, 1842 Chalk Level Road, Chatham. (See
directions above.) Cherrystone Farms, situated
on 176 acres in the Piedmont region of Southern Virginia, is adjacent to
an early roadway that dates from the pre-Revolutionary era. A panorama
of rolling hills and distant mountains includes Little Cherrystone Creek,
white fences, a 10-acre lake and several new outbuildings that support
a registered Black Angus cattle farm and 12-horse stable. The beige-brick
pillared, yellow-frame house, with attached three-car garage and office
above, is approached from a circular driveway. Planted landscaping
extends from a paved entry to surround a lower-level swimming pool and
patio.
Magnificent views are an integral feature of this 6,000-square-foot
home, as it appears even more spacious with an extended back deck and innovative
placement of windows on two levels of living space. The gallery-style
foyer has a granite floor which transitions to pecan hardwood in an open floor
plan. Cathedral ceilings feature exposed beams, lavish wood detail and
ceiling fans. Fireplaces and ornate wall light fixtures impart impressions
of Tuscany. Handsome cabinetry encloses a bar, media center and
accommodations for a large kitchen. Each of five bedrooms has a full bath with
additional half-baths that service areas for exercise, swimming and laundry.
Vibrant colors within harmonious selections of wallpaper, fabric, furniture
and rugs were chosen when the house was built in 2007. Horse-related
memorabilia are among significant collections denoting family activities and
interests. Open for the first time. Mr. and Mrs. H. Wayne Yeatts,
owners.
STREETCAR, 19 South Main Street. East
side of Rt. 29 Business; Corner of Pruden and Main Sts. In the
center of Chatham’s historic district is a reconditioned double-truck
Birney streetcar (#66), utilized with overhead power lines by the City
of Danville 1926-38. Before World War II, three Burnett brothers
purchased and trucked it to this location beside a gas station, then refurbished
it as a diner. “Short order” selections were served outside
through a pass-through window (fashioned within a portion of its front
windshield) or inside from a 1930s custom-built counter with attached bar
stools. Later structural features enlarged the dining facilities,
but interior roof-ribbing still denotes quality wood construction by the
Perley A. Thomas Car Company of High Point, North Carolina. On the
roof is a 1941 timepiece manufactured by the National Clock Company, and
the trolley’s original headlight is re-electrified to brighten red
exterior paint. A Virginia Historic Landmark, listed in 1996 on
the National Register of Historic Places among Virginia Diners, the streetcar
had upgrades by subsequent owners and proprietors for food service that
led to a 2007 transformation into a Visitors Center, a project of the Pittsylvania
Historical Society with support of Chatham First, Inc
The town’s Revitalization Committee enabled beautification on
this corner of Main and Pruden Streets in the 1980s with assistance of Pittsylvania
County Schools’ Vo-Tech students, local gardeners and the owner to create
a raised garden, surrounded by a brick foundation wall. This inspired
memorial gifts by citizens of plantings and benches to complement the overall
design. The result is a multi-purpose site, with the former service station
rebuilt as an insurance office and Division of Motor Vehicles satellite office.
Open for the first time. Mr. Allan Easley, owner.
1813 CLERKS OFFICE, 16 Court Place. From
Main St., drive one block west on Court Place, walk behind Town Hall. Located “in
the backyard” of Chatham’s Town Hall, the Pittsylvania County
Clerks Office of 1813 remains near the same spring that was designated
by court order for its original placement. Currently surrounded by a town
park, with a pavilion for picnics, a gazebo for seating and a reconstructed
tobacco barn for viewing, the Pittsylvania Historical Society restored
this L-shaped brick building with a grant from the Virginia Department
of Historic Resources. Listed in 1981 as a Virginia Historic Landmark
and in 1982 on the National Register of Historic Places, this is a Museum
containing more than 1,000 local artifacts dating from the county’s
beginning. Memorabilia from every war are included, and the building
is also used for historical depictions that the Society maintains for its
meetings and for public education.
Similar to Virginia’s early government structures across the Tidewater
and Piedmont regions, the red-brick building is laid in Flemish bond with dogtooth
corbels for cornices with four rows of unmolded brick set at a 45-degree angle.
Three outside entries have heavy wooden bars inside as well as shuttered windows
of 18 panes. There are four fireplaces within two rooms, with chair rails,
plastered walls and stone floors.
Refreshments will be served here, conveniently near restrooms the
Society placed in 2007 to accommodate visitors to the county seat. The
Town of Chatham, owner.
PICNIC PAVILION, Frances Hallam Hurt Park. Flower arranging by Bee Sieburg will be demonstrated at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. under the shelter of the picnic pavilion, a bonus for visitors to the Clerks Office. Mrs. Sieburg’s talents have been featured in Southern Living as well as Southern Living Weddings. (No individual tickets will be sold at this site.)
SWANBERG HOME, 4840 Spring Garden Road, Chatham. (See
directions above.) In 1915, Dr. Charles Grove built this two-story
white clapboard house and welcoming porches to incorporate his physician’s
office with a separate side entrance. It remained in the Grove family
for two generations. Alongside an old stagecoach route that existed
prior to the formation of Pittsylvania County in 1767, original outbuildings
share space on the lawn amid large trees, boxwood and grape arbors. Open
for the first time is a two-room house built for servants. Its interior
is preserved as it was constructed, with curving steps in one corner and
a fireplace centered on another wall. Antique furnishings include
a rope bed with a variety of items identified by names of previous owners
who were local families.
The third owner of this gracious home is a knowledgeable collector whose
décor features period furniture and innovative styles of display. Her
kitchen includes a working 1930s stove and an early oak icebox. Bedrooms
contain an historical array of magnificent beds, created for children and adults,
utilizing old linens for coverlets as well as early needlework in decoration. Framed
art includes 21 pieces by Bessie Pease Gutmann featuring children and nine
Currier and Ives hand-colored lithographs. Forecasting an interesting visit
are many early 20th century treasures such as a free-standing hand-crank Victrola. Mrs.
R. Jerry Swanberg, owner.