VA-HIST members,

I am currently working on a project with two other people to prepare an
interpretive master plan for the Arcola Slave Quarters for Loudoun County
Parks, Recreation and Community Services. The quarter, made of stone and
constructed in two stages (ca. 1813 and ca. 1845) is a rare survival, and
it is primarily through the efforts of the Friends of Arcola Slave Quarters
that the building is still standing. It is located between Evergreen Mills
Road and Route 50 and is not currently open to the public. The site
includes a 20th-century county maintenance building and, in close
proximity, an American four-square house constructed on the foundations of
the early 19th-century plantation house, which burned in the 1920s.

Vincent Lewis purchased this land in 1746 and gave part of it to his son,
James, and then left most of it to his son, Charles [the story of the
property is long and convoluted--this is the simple version]. The slave
quarter is on land that we think belonged to James; Charles lived on land
across Evergreen Mills Road.

We have the research done by the Friends--primarily genealogical, focusing
on the enslaved individuals owned by the family--and we have the deeds,
wills, probate inventories, estate sale records, personal property tax
records and slave division documents from the Fairfax and Loudoun County
records. There is a very lengthy chancery case focusing on Lewis property,
but this is primarily from the last quarter of the 19th century, even
though it includes earlier wills, deeds, and probate records. We also have
a detailed architectural report on the building done by Dr. Dennis Pogue
and Dr. Douglas Sanford earlier this year.

What we don't have and have been unable to locate, are any personal records
of the family: letters, diaries, business records, etc., as well as any
images of the property before the plantation house burned. We welcome any
information on the whereabouts of these records as well as any other
information or suggestions that can help us with this project.

Many thanks!

Martha Katz-Hyman
Independent Curator
Newport News, VA

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