March 28, 2019 / Joanne Yeck

Buckingham County Houses: Rich Bottom, Part I

In 1936, Rosa G. Williams (a. k. a. Garnett Agee Williams) surveyed a Buckingham County property with the unusual name of “Rich Bottom” for the Virginia Historical Inventory. She described the location as “2 miles east of Dillwyn, Virginia on Route #629, cemetery about .3 of a mile west of highway.”

Mrs. Williams did not provide a deed history for the property, however, she described a series of owners as follows:

A Mr. Brown was the first owner (known), next a Mr. Langhorne owned it about 1830 and lived there until about 1840 when the place was sold to Moses Smith. It has remained in the family of the Smiths since that time. It passed from Moses Smith to his sons: William, Emmette, Wesley and Robert. It is now owned by Garnett Smith, a son of Robert, who inherited his father’s share and bought the other heirs out in 1911. He lives here with his family.

Mrs. Williams added that the dwelling house at Rich Bottom “must have been built in the early 1800s.” At that time, the property consisted of 1,000 acres. The Smith family retained about 600 acres.

Coming next: Buckingham County Houses: Rich Bottom, Part II