Buckingham County Houses: Saratoga, Part II

Saratoga. Courtesy Historic Buckingham.

Need to catch up, click here: Buckingham County Houses: Saratoga, Part I

As is often the case with country houses, Saratoga was built in parts, possibly expanded over many years. Elizabeth McGraw goes on to describe its eclectic design for the Virginia Historical Inventory:

The house is built in three parts or sections. The front part contains eight rooms and is of brick covered with stucco. The middle and back parts are framed. The middle part is two and a half stories, while the back part is only one story. The interesting features of the frame part are the large iron locks and strap hinges on the heavy six panel doors. There are three one flight winding stairways in the frame part of the house. The cellar or basement has four large rooms and several small rooms or halls. Large wooden locks and shop-made hinges are on several of the cellar doors. Large fireplaces and old brick wood fired furnace of Ante-Bellum days are still to be seen in the cellar. The windows in the front part of the house are large and extend from the floor to the ceiling, while those in the older, or frame part are small windows with panes 8×10 inches in size. The upper and lower sashes upstairs are different in size.

Under historical significance, Mrs. McCraw added:

Colonel Hubbard had the front part of the original house at “Saratoga” torn down and the present eight room addition built about 1850. (From a family record). It is said that “Saratoga” was one of the three country homes in Virginia lighted by gas prior to the War Between the States. This gas was manufactured on the estate. The house too was heated by a wood fired furnace. This brick oven like affair is still to be seen in the cellar. It is said to have burned a cord or more of wood a day.

Colonel Hubard’s trained slaves built the newer part of “Saratoga”. Nelson and Jim Trent were the main carpenters. Colonel Hubard had the walls rebuilt nine times before they met his requirements of exactness.

Coming next: Buckingham County Houses: Saratoga, Part III