2018 Homes
Our Sponsors
DJ's Java Joint
Special Thanks to DJ's Java Joint for their sponsorship of our home tour. They will be open before and during the tour serving up delicious breakfast, lunch, coffee, and dessert options; including fresh beignets, hot chocolate, and apple cider.
Petersburg Area Regional Tourism
Thank you to PART for their generous In-Kind support. We truly appreciate all of the marketing and publicity you provide for all of our Battersea events. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts.
In-Kind Donors
Cabin Creek Interiors
Dale Traylor Band
Iris Schwartz
Cruisers
Petersburg Pickers
The Ragland Mansion
The 12th Virginia Infantry
Mikey Fuller
Sweet Dixie
250 South Sycamore Street
Circa 1890
Tommy & Kay Carwile
This majestic Queen Anne Eastlake beauty was featured in Victorian Homes Magazine. They called it “the place everyone dreams of calling home for the holidays.” Converted into apartments in 1936, it was lovingly restored by the Carwiles who purchased the home in 1986. Delight in nine beautifully decorated trees in rooms filled with Petersburg collectibles, and furniture once belonging to General Mahone.
314 South Sycamore Street
Circa 1860
Victoria Ginsberg
Nestled in a row of period homes facing historic Poplar Lawn Park, this American Queen Anne is always cozy with seven functioning fireplaces. Many original features including the slate roof, mantles, stairway, and hardwood flooring compliment its comfortable and present-day furnishings.
215 South Sycamore Street
Circa 1921
Trinity United Methodist Church
This Georgian Revival house of worship was constructed of Indiana limestone and inspired by Saint Martin in the Field Chapel near London, England. Tour goers will experience an auditory treat through continuous organ recitals in the sanctuary, which boasts near perfect acoustics. The narthex contains the original bell that hung in the old Union Street Methodist Church.
332 South Sycamore Street
Circa 1912
The Ann Louise Hines D.A.R. Chapter House
This 2 ½ story brick Georgian Revival is the headquarters of the Col. John Banister Chapter, NSDAR and was a bequest of Mrs. Lottie Louise Williamson Hines, former organizing regent of the chapter. Features include two sets of original pocket doors, and ornate mantels and mirrors. Many of the home’s original furnishings, including period Petersburg pieces, family memorabilia, and Chapter Archives will be on display. Upstairs, enjoy the invitingly decorated apartment of tenant David Emory.
228 South Sycamore Street
Circa 1845
The Cameron Foundation
The Greek Revival Weddell-McCabe-Chisolm House is home to Cameron, a private foundation that strives to transform the Tri-Cities into a healthy, vibrant, and economically vital region by strategically leveraging resources for community impact. The interior was largely destroyed by fire early this century. Following extensive renovations, including a contemporary addition, the home became The Cameron Foundation’s headquarters. Meeting rooms are used by more than 70 non-profit and civic groups at no cost to assist them in fulfilling their missions.
214 South Adams Street
Circa 1809
Eddie & Bridgette Woodmancy
The outside view from this stately antebellum Federal style home is magnificent, especially the towering eleven-foot windows with original panes. The antiques filled interior has five-inch pine flooring, beautiful chandeliers, and ceiling medallions—a very inviting atmosphere for the home’s resident friendly ghosts. The exterior ornate capital and dental molding, and grand curved roof front porch beckon humans and spirits through its doors.
22 North Sycamore Street
Circa 1854
Aimee and Alain Joyaux
This building is one of the most spectacular renovations of a downtown structure. Once a warehouse and it’s now a home—complete with an art studio, woodshop, print making studio, court yard with a pizza oven, and a first-floor commercial space. The transformation was nearly entirely executed by the Joyauxes, who skillfully acquired and personally installed often repurposed components. The interior is filled with a wonderful mix of antiques and contemporary pieces, accented with art and handcrafted furnishings, many created by the owners. To call this a stunning property would be an understatement.
205 South Sycamore Street
Circa 1857
Claudia Bezaka
Marvel at the massive interior and exterior of this magnificent Italianate mansion. Once home of actor Joseph Cotten’s family, and the Fort Lee Officer’s Club during WWII, the Ragland Mansion is now a popular Bed and Breakfast. Exquisite interior architectural elements include crown molding, a ballroom, twin parlors, a sun room, marble fireplaces, ornate parquet floors, and pocket doors. The interior focal point of the residence is the four-story center hall staircase with over two-hundred hand-carved mahogany fleur-de-lis balusters.
129 Marshall Street
Circa 1840, Addition 1860
Michael Maszaros & Andrew Cushen
This Greek Revival is filled with unique home furnishings that beautifully blend with the owners’ skill in the art of interior decorating. Favorite pieces include a 1660’s pub table crafted in Colonial Williamsburg, and a square grand piano salvaged from Mentone Springs Hotel in east Alabama, which burned in 2014.
109 Central Park
Circa 1900
Bruce and Laurie Noe
This beautifully renovated Queen Anne with its asymmetrical front façade, decorative dentils, classical columns, and large front door is a perfect blend of period exterior architecture and interior modern comforts. Facing beautiful Poplar Lawn Park, the home is filled with the interesting and eclectic mix of home furnishings.
Battersea Villa
CIRCA 1768
1289 UPPER APPOMATTOX LANE
Battersea is a substantial stuccoed brick house located north of Upper Appomattox Street in the city of Petersburg, near the south bank of the Appomattox River. Even though the 37+ acre property is bordered by a 19th-century neighborhood and a light industrial area, it still retains its historic rural character. The house was built in 1768 by Colonel John Banister, the first Mayor of Petersburg and a signer of the Articles of Confederation. Battersea was designed and built as a symmetrical five-part Anglo-Palladian house featuring a two-story central block, one-story wings that act as hyphens, and one-and-a-half story end pavilions. One-story columned porticos mark the entrances on the front, back, and sides of the house. The plan of the interior reflects the five-part massing of the exterior, presenting a symmetrical single-pile plan with rooms extending to either side of the central block. The designer of the house is unknown.
Battersea is one of the earliest and finest surviving examples of a five-part, Robert Morris-style Palladian house form in the United States, and is the earliest surviving, fully developed example of this house type in Virginia. Battersea represents a refined and original synthesis of ideas from Andrea Palladio and Robert Morris, copying neither but reinterpreting ideas from both to meet 18th-century American needs. The five-part house form was a basic manifestation of Palladianism in both Britain and America, which enjoyed popularity in the United States during the 18th and early-19th centuries. Today, Battersea is a rare and unusually sophisticated survival of this form. Some of the finest early nineteenth century Classically-inspired architectural detailing resulted–distinctive in its period expression and craftsmanship–within the framework of the Palladian form. The later work shows a rare understanding of the derivation of the Palladian form and a clear intention to work within the parameters of this style. Battersea is therefore eligible for national significance under Criterion C in the area of architecture.
Tour Guidelines
Additional Information
- Please wear comfortable, safe walking shoes. Spiked heels are prohibited.
- Dress is comfortable and casual. Please refrain from carrying large handbags.
- The attendance of young children is discouraged. If they attend, they must remain under control of parents and must purchase an admission ticket if they are not in a body infant carrier. Strollers are not allowed in the residences.
- Please no smoking within 100 feet of the residences.
- For quick access, please have your ticket ready so you may show it at the door.
- Homes may be visited in any order and you may return to your favorite if you have time!
- The tour is designed for participants to view sites at their leisure with no formal presentations being given.
- Homeowners and their friends and family, who are familiar with the properties, will be on hand to greet guests and answer any questions.
