In a sprawling barn that used to echo with the lowing of dairy cows, square beams hewn from trees centuries ago are stacked and numbered. Staircases, stripped of their turned wood balusters, lead nowhere, and dark wooden planks that once kept winter winds at bay are piled waist high.

Tens of thousands of bricks were carefully preserved during the deconstruction of Tusculum. After funds are raised for reconstruction, the structure may serve as a Sweet Briar museum.
Tusculum, the 18th-century home once owned by the Crawford family — one of whom was the mother of Sweet Briar College founder Indiana Fletcher Williams — is a silent ghost, waiting to be summoned forth.

Over the past several months, the 3,500-square-foot plantation home was methodically deconstructed and moved from a site off U.S. 29 in Amherst County to an old dairy barn on the Sweet Briar campus.

Three years ago, when College officials learned the home was to be demolished to make way for new construction, they jumped at the chance to preserve the historic gem. “I’m so excited about this,” College President Elisabeth Muhlenfeld said near the end of deconstruction. “I’m so pleased we’re able to have a part in this.”

Timothy Robinson, owner and president of Heartland Millwork and Restoration and a 27-year veteran of historic home restoration, was hired by Sweet Briar to complete the dismantling effort. Because of the “tooling and techniques” used, he estimated the home was built in about 1750.

“It’s the earliest type of frontier work that I have ever seen,” he said.

A wealth of information when it comes to 18th-century construction, Robinson said the huge beams, weighing 3 or 4 tons each, were meticulously crafted with such tools as the broad ax, block plane and two-man pit saw. “Every time I get into one of these things, I’m just stunned at how well they are constructed, this one in particular,” he said.

Future plans for the Federal- and Georgian-styled structure have not yet been finalized. College fundraisers envision Tusculum as a museum and resource for Amherst County that may focus on the development of the county and how the Crawford family was involved in its settling.

Depending on the use and finish, disability requirements, kitchen and restroom facilities, the cost for Robinson and crew to rebuild the structure may vary. College fundraisers estimate at least $500,000 will be needed. The entire project will be funded by private donations.

Regardless of its function, Robinson emphasized the importance of preserving Tusculum for future generations. “If you don’t save these two- or three-hundred-year-old buildings, you won’t be able to see how we built them,” he said, adding, “You definitely have a treasure here.”

For more information about Tusculum, contact Sandy Botton, major gifts officer in development, at sbotton@sbc.edu .

Parts and pieces of Tusculum await reconstruction.
Beams were labeled to aid in the eventual rebuilding process.
Tusculum, last winter before deconstruction began.
Tusculum in June.

— Story and photos by Suzanne Ramsey, SBC staff writer