Buckingham Houses: Locust Dale, Part I

Mercedes Ludlow in the doorway at Locust Dale, 1983. Courtesy Mercedes Ludlow.

Recently, I was contacted by Mercedes Ludlow who grew up on Penlan Road, Arvonia, Buckingham County. The house she was born in was thought to be built in the 1700s and sat on land once owned by Peter Guerrant. When her parents purchased the property, it was known as the old Brooks farm and the house came with a rich oral history and a nearby cemetery. The Brooks family called it Locust Dale.

The early deeds to property were lost in the 1869 Buckingham County courthouse fire. So, in 1937, when Elizabeth McGraw surveyed Locust Dale for the Virginia Historical Inventory, she based her deed history on collective memory and documents preserved in the Brooks family. Her informant, Miss Emma Brooks of Diana Mills, was the current owner and granddaughter of the previous owner V. R. Brooks. In 1804, he had purchased the place from a James Ramsey, who presumably bought it from Peter Guerrant.

Mrs. McCraw recorded the very specific date of 1799 for the construction house, however, one Brooks family notation suggests that the house may have been built much earlier – about 1730.

Mrs. McCraw wrote these details:

This old looking house was owned in 1799 by Peter Guerrant. How long he lived here or if he built the house is not known. An old land plat in the possession of the present owner shows that Peter Guerrant sold the place to James Ramsey, May 16, 1799. Another paper or deed shows that James Ramsey sold the place to V. R. Brooks, December 22, 1804. The third paper dated 1842 transfers the property to V. R. Brooks, Jr. whose heirs now live here. There is no recorded deed, as the children still live here.

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Note: This property should not be confused with the Peter Guerrant house, which is still standing and believe to be constructed circa 1835. Click here to learn more: The Peter Guerrant House

Coming Next: Buckingham Houses: Locust Dale, Part II