A Walking Tour
Today while my young charge was in school, I took a walking tour in Onancock and its outstanding collection of 19th century houses. Ker Place, built in 1799-1802 is considered the finest example of Federal architecture on the Eastern Shore. This is my favorite architectural style with everything symmetrical. The all-brick Georgian style house has walls 2 feet thick; thick enough to withstand hurricane and cannon. It’s 2 ½ stories high and has a basement. The spacious rooms have the original wood floors. The long pine planking is from Georgia as all the tall pine in Virginia had been used in ship building. The woodwork is hand carved, and cornices, mantels, and window framing have elaborate designs from the period. Paint was researched and analyzed and the current colors made to be similar to the original. It seems an unusual array of color; not the typical Authentic Williamsburg Collection colors from the paint stores.
In 1799, this plantation included 365 acres. Over the years it grew to more than 3600 acres. It was typical of the plantations of the era that included chicken houses, necessary houses, barn, carriage house, stable, kitchen, and slave quarters. The owner followed the Methodist movement to free slaves and he signed manumission for all his slaves when he died in 1806 of consumption (TB.) Today’s property is bounded on all sides by commercial buildings and is no more than a town lot.
Electricians were busy while I was there, installing ceiling chandeliers. Currently there are no room lights so the house can’t be open at night. They have raised money to install antique, period-correct chandeliers which will bring more life to the house. The men showed us what was below the upstairs flooring as they cut through the downstairs ceiling. Sawdust was used as insulation between stories.
The biggest surprise for me was to walk into the welcome/office area and see my Avery and Gunner books on the shelf for sale. I’ve never been here before!