Elmwood (Front): 1941

Thanks for posting this. It's gorgeous! I'm happy to see that the restoration kept its nice clean lines intact and didn't give it the wedding cake treatment.

Some more photos of Elmwood from 1941, before its restoration. Below, the 1850s stair tower, which has been removed. This was evidently added to provide outside access to the second floor when the house was being used as a school.

That would be very cool if you posted some modern pictures of this house. Reading the history of the house was fascinating. Is the house open to the public? I wonder if the gardens are still there?

[The b/w photo below is a modern picture, relatively speaking. Not taken yesterday but still probably pretty accurate. The house, along with other historic Tidewater estates, is usually open to the public in April during Garden Week. The house was mostly vacant from the end of the Civil War to the 1940s, when the front and back porches were removed. The gardens were restored along with the interior in the 1950s and 60s. - Dave]

Thanks, nytzi! The black-and-white photos with the second link (National Register nomination) show how Elmwood looks today (below; click to enlarge). I am distantly related to the Garnetts through marriage on my mother's side of the family. Maybe I'll stop by the next time the house is open for Garden Week and take some pictures.

I found some awesome links to the history of this home, but no modern photo as of yet.

1. Home Library of The Garnetts of Elmwood
2. National Register Nomination
3. History of Elmwood

Does anyone know if there are any modern pictures of this house online somewhere? I'd love to see what it looks like today. It's an intriguing home

Is this house haunted or should I say was it thought to be?

[I'm not sure but it looks like a good candidate! My mother was born in 1922 in a farmhouse somewhere in Essex County, but she was never sure where. After she died my sister and I inherited property her father owned not far from here. So this kind of takes me back. - Dave]