Greenway Plantation is a wood-frame, one-and-a-half-story plantation

Plantation

A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...

 house that stands on the north side of Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia

Charles City County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

. Located just west of the Charles City Courthouse, it is one of Charles City's earliest and most distinctive Colonial plantations and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

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Physical description

The plantation comprises approximately 1100 acres (4.5 km²) and consists of several outbuildings in addition to the main house. The frame structures have beaded clapboard siding and wood-covered gable rooflines. The main structure is symmetrical in its front, southern facade and possesses the end chimneys so characteristic of southern Colonial structures. It has a unique T-Shaped plan and the brick foundation walls are constructed mainly of Flemish bond, with the exception of a few areas where an English brick bond is possible evidence of additions.

History

Greenway was built circa 1776 by Judge John Tyler, Sr.

John Tyler, Sr.

John Tyler Sr. was a Virginia planter, judge, 15th Governor of Virginia and the father of the 10th President of the United States, John Tyler....

, the father of president John Tyler

John Tyler

John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...

. Future President Tyler was born here in 1790. When Judge Tyler died in 1813, John Tyler at the age of 23 inherited Greenway and lived there until age 39 (1829), when he sold the plantation and moved to nearby Sherwood Forest. Although its architecture is of significant import, the historical figures associated with the structure provide the greatest argument for the plantation's historic integrity.

Present use

The current plantation is privately owned and maintained. The structures have remained well-preserved over the years with little alteration.