Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute Historic District

Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute Historic District
The Henry James Brown House, seen in April 2017
Location VA 617, Gravel Hill, Virginia
Coordinates 37°34′58″N 78°22′26″W / 37.58278°N 78.37389°W / 37.58278; -78.37389Coordinates: 37°34′58″N 78°22′26″W / 37.58278°N 78.37389°W / 37.58278; -78.37389
Area 18 acres (7.3 ha)
Built 1837 (1837)-1863
Built by Shepard, Carrol M.; Multiple
NRHP reference # 84000035[1]
VLR # 014-0127
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 4, 1984
Designated VLR March 20, 1984[2]

The Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute Historic District is a historic school complex and national historic district located at Gravel Hill, Buckingham County, Virginia. In 1831, Samuel Shepard and Dr. John Wesley Langhorne organized Trustees of the Female Collegiate Institute to establish the first charted college for women in Virginia. This institute would be located in Buckingham County Virginia in the Gravel Hill area of the county. It originally encompassed five contributing buildings associated with the Institute which operated from 1837 to 1863. They are of brick and frame construction and are the President's House (c. 1852-1853), the Henry James Brown House, the John S. West store/dwelling, the Institute Tavern (c. 1850), and the Cobb-West-England House (c. 1850).[3] The President's House was demolished by its owner in 2010, over objections from the local historical society, after it was damaged by falling trees; the owner claimed that repairs to the structure would be too costly.[4] In 1837, the Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute was incorporated by the Virginia General Assembly. The college opened in 1838 to provide accommodations for 120 students. Students were offered degrees in either Mistress of English Literature or Mistress of Classic Literature. The college struggled financially and finally closed its doors in 1863.

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.[1]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  3. ↑ Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission Staff (1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Buckingham Female Collegiate Institute Historic District" (PDF). and Accompanying photo and Accompanying map Archived September 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Strong, Ted. "Buckingham historic site demolished to ire of some". Retrieved 11 April 2017.


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