SHERWOOD FOREST - HOME OF PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP05T00644R000300920003-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 20, 2009
• Sequence Number: 3
• Content Type: MISC

Approved For Release 2009/04/20 : CIA-RDP05T00644R000300920003-8
SHERWOOD FOREST - Home of President John Tyler
Located in Charles City County on Route #5
near the Benjamin Harrison Bridge.
BERKELEY - Birthplace of Benjamin Harrison
Located on Route #5.
Both of the above are open daily including
Sundays from 9:00 am. to 5:00 p.m.
ADMITTANCE - $2.50 each
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SNekwoo D Resr
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The entrance (R) to SHERWOOD FOREST (R) is at 34 m. This was the
home of John Tyler, who became President of the United States, and
birthplace of his son, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, long president of the College
of William and Mary and eminent Virginia historian.
Though the estate has the James as one of its boundaries, the house is a
mile or more from the river. The frame structure rambles from a two-and-
a-half-story central unit through lower wings and dependencies, all con-
nected by passageways, to a total length of about 300 feet.
In 1842 President Tyler purchased the estate, called Walnut Grove,
from Collier Minge and remodeled a Colonial house on it. Lateral addi-
tions from time to time finally produced the present structure, completed
during ownership of David Gardiner Tyler (1846-1927). Among memen-
tos preserved here is the silver pitcher that was presented to President Ty-
ler by the ladies of Brazoria County, Texas, upon the admission of the
'Lone Star State' in 1845. Though it was burned black in the Richmond
fire of 1865, its inscription is still legible.
John Tyler (1790-1862), born at Greenway (see above), a stone's throw
from the birthplace of the Whig President whom he succeeded in the
White House, was graduated from the College of William and Mary,
served as Virginia assemblyman, congressional representative and sena-
tor, and as governor of his State. Though he cast his lot with the Whigs in
1833 and with the Democrats in 1844, neither party could claim his whole-
hearted allegiance or ever gave him its support. In 1840 the Whigs nom-
inated William H. Harrison for the presidency, and Tyler for the vice-
presidency, because they thought he could hold the southern Whigs who
were being deflected from the party by antislavery agitation. When Pres-
ident Harrison died one month after his inauguration and was succeeded
by Tyler, storms, long gathering, broke immediately. Tyler had become
the nominal leader of a party whose policies he actually disapproved;
Henry. Clay remained the real Whig leader. Congressional debates were
focused upon the occupation of the Oregon country and the annexation of
Texas. Slavery and the extension or limitation of slaveholding territory
were the real issues. The Whig President, who was a Calhoun Democrat,
favored annexing Texas, a vast slaveholding country, and defied the
Whigs who had elected him. Though neither party renominated him in
i844, the election of James K. Polk, Democrat and annexationist, was in a
sense a vindication of Tyler's policy and enabled him to sign the annexa-
tion bill shortly before the inauguration of his successor.
In 1845 Tyler retired to Sherwood Forest. In 1861 the Virginia legisla-
ture commissioned him to confer with President Buchanan concerning
Federal occupation of Fort Sumter. On February 4, 186z, he presided over
the ineffectual peace conference in Washington, from which he returned to
urge secesston. After his State had seceded, Tyler was made chairman of
the committee that conferred with Alexander H. Stephens, Vice President
of the Confederate States, who had been sent to Richmond to form a
treaty of alliance between Virginia and the Confederate Government. He
was a member of the provisional Confederate Congress and was elected to
the permanent congress January 18, 1862, but died before that body met.
At 34.5 in. is a junction with County 618.
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 Approved For Release 2009/04/20: CIA-RDP05T00644R000300920003-8 Visit Sherwood Forest, a James River Plantation,
JOHN Tyler was the first Vice-President
to succeed to the Presidency, twice
Governor of Virginia, United States Senator, member
of the House of Representatives, State Senator and
member of the House of Delegates of Virginia,
Chancellor of William and Mary College, President
of the Peace Convention of 1861 and finally a
member of the Confederate Congress.
SHERWOOD Forest was the home of
President John Tyler (1841-45). Con-
sidered the longest frame house in America, it is
300 feet long. Built ca. 1730. altered and renovated
by President Tyler in 1844. the house looks very
much as it did when Tyler retired from the White
House in 1845, and brought with him to Sherwood
Forest his bride of several months, the beautiful
Julia Gardiner, of Gardiner's Island, New York. Since
this time, the Plantation has been continuously
occupied by members of the Tyler family, and has
been a working plantation for over 240 years. All of
the original 1600 acres are still in the Tyler name.
THE house contains a private ballroom
68 feet in length, and is superbly fur-
nished with family heirlooms of the 18th
and 19th Century. President Tyler's
porcelain, china, silver. mirrors. ,. Au- ? -.
girondoles. tables, chairs, and other.U,:-......, _ ' ...., i
- furnishings are still in use at Sher- .. . 1
wood Forest. In the library are the _4
books of Governor Tyler (President 1
1
Tyler's father). President Tyler. and .
President Tyler's son. Dr. Lyon
Gardiner Tyler. President of the
College of William and Mary.
HOME OF
PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER
Charles City County, Virginia
Visit Sherwood Forest, a James River Plantation,
which is located in Charles City County on Scenic
Virginia Route 5, the John Tyler Memorial Highway. A
pleasant drive from either city, Sherwood Forest is only
35 miles East of Richmond, 18 miles west of
Williamsburg.
Individual groups are welcome. Inquire about our group
discount. Open daily, except Christmas Day, 9:00-
5:00. For further information call 804/829-5377 or
write Sherwood Forest, Charles City County, Virginia
23030.
HOME OF
PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER
Charles City County, Virginia
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Sherwood Forest has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
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THE Main Hall is part of the original 1730 House. The staircase is of native
walnut and pine. All the hardware is original to the house. The portrait
of Julia Gardiner, the President's bride, hangs above the sofa.
NORTH view of the President's home shows the 300 foot length of
the house. There are over 80 varieties of century old trees in
the gardens, 37 of which are not indigenous to the area. The large
Gingko behind the house was brought by Admiral Peary in
the mid-19th Century when Tyler re-opened the Trade Route
to the Far East.
THE North door is a
handsome example of
the Regency Period,
with plaster moulds
from the designs of the
New York architect,
Minard La Fever. The
original coffin shaped
door knocker was
chosen by President
Tyler and is en-
graved with the name
Sherwood Forest.
AFTERNOON tea is
erved in the Draw-
ing Room from Presi-
dent Tyler's Rose
Medallion tea service
and the American four
caddy tea poy.
THE Gray Room was Presi-
dent Tyler's family sitting
room. Furnished with a mixture
of family heirlooms of the
18th and 19th Century, this
room has been occupied for
two hundred years by a ghost,
the Gray Lady, who descends
the hidden staircase and
rocks until dawn in a non-
existent rocking chair.
THE dining room wall-
paper was chosen from
France by Julia Gardiner
Tyler in 1844. It remained
on the walls for 135 years.
It has been reproduced and
re-hung in its original
position. The tea service
originally belonged to
Meriwether Lewis of the
Lewis and Clark expedition.
The 18th Century silver
urn was given to Capt.
Alfred Hart Miles, Tyler's
grandson-in-law and com-
poser of "Anchors Aweigh."
THE Milk House was built during the
third quarter of the 18th Century.
Entire overhangs are made of exposed
plaster of paris. The handmade bricks
bordering the structure are more than
200 years old, and have never been
set in mortar.
THE elegant ballroom is unique with its arched ceiling and Ameri-
can Empire woodwork designed by Julia Gardiner Tyler in 1844-
45 and constructed by local carpenters. Entertainments were lavish.
A frequent 19th Century visitor was Margaret Beekman of New
York, the President's sister-in-law, who wrote with praise:
"Champagne flowed unceasingly, of the finest kind, with two break-
fasts being served, one at 1:30 and one at 3:30 in the morning."
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Plantation
fora President
of the house where
President Tyler lived,
worked, and danced
the Virginia reel?
now open for visitors
to share its treasures.
VI TALE
When President Tyler left office in 1845, he retired with his bride,
Julia Gardiner, to a 1730 house on 1,600 acres along the James
River in Charles City County, Virginia. He renamed it Sherwood
Forest (for Robin Hood, whom he admired for putting public
welfare before private gain), and added a colonnade and a ball-
room, making it the longest frame house (300 feet) in the United
States. The house was scarred by Union occupancy during the
War Between the States, yet today, owned by the President's
youngest grandson, Harrison R. Tyler, the house stands complete-
ly restored, and its 1,600 acres are still a working, family owned
plantation.
Above: The Gray room, President Tyler's family sitting room,
which takes its name from "The Gray Lady," a ghost said to
have haunted it for 200 years. On the President's table is
one of his books, with the mark of a burn and rifle-shot dating
from the occupation by Union troops. Stools were gifts from
the Thomas Jefferson family. Right: The dining room, with
original French china, and wallpaper pattern chosen by his
wife. The original paper, ordered from France in 1844, was
removed and copied in 1976. The gilded valances were
bought by the President's mother-in-law for $7.50 apiece.
White Spode tea set belonged to Meriwether Lewis. Top:
Sherwood Forest, a working plantation, open to the public.
AN H&G MUSEUM HOUSE
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PLANTATION FOR A PRESIDENT
The house is alive with irresistible history:
The ballroom was designed for reels; the
ing room was once the President's bed-
room, where he and his First Lady often break-
fasted in bed; and in the drawing-room window
stands an 1830s teapot with a lock: At the time,
tea in Virginia was selling for $80 a pound.
VITALE
Above: A bedroom on the second floor, fur-
nished mostly with antique family pieces in-
herited by Mrs. Harrison R. Tyler. Framed fans
on the wall are American 19th century. Shaving
stand on Queen Anne table is Charleston
Hepplewhite. Linen bedspread with patterned
chintz cutouts dates from first half of 18th cen-
tury. Top, left: The drawing room. On tea table
(Baltimore, circa 1770), tea set sent to Presi-
dent by Emperor Tao Kuang in gratitude for
opening trade routes to China. Left: The ball-
room, 68 feet long, designed by the President's
wife for Virginia reels. Hand-hewn pine floor.
Right: A corner of drawing room: 1720 Boulle
clock, 1750 English petit-point fire screen.
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When the present Tylers began restoring the house, only a third of the original
furniture was still intact. But, using Julia Tyler's voluminous and enthusiastic
correspondence as a source of reference, they matched colors, copied wall-
papers, and added other heirlooms brought in by later Tyler brides, notably
Mrs. Harrison Tyler herself, who directed the entire restoration. Matching
foundation bricks, floors, doors, and paneling were found in two neighboring
18th-century houses, one of them formerly a Tyler property. Among the
original furnishings ordered by President Tyler's wife for the house, and still
in place today, are: a silver cake basket on the dining room table, and two
pairs of girandoles bought for $37.50 a pair. All the door knockers and knobs
were chosen by the President himself. Sherwood Forest is now a National
Historic Landmark. It is located on State Rte. 5, 18 miles west of Williams-
burg, and open to the public daily from 9 to 5 except on Christmas day. For
information write Sherwood Forest. Charles City County, Va. 23030.
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:BERKELEY
Right here to BERKELEY (R), 0.2 in., the birthplace of a signer of the Declaration of
Independence?Benjamin Harrison?of a president of the United States?William
Henry Harrison?and ancestral home of another president?Benjamin Harrison.
Berkeley stands between detached dependencies at the head of low terraced gardens
above the James. Its warm red brick walls rise two stories to a deep cornice beneath a
massive gabled roof. Two tall chimneys pierce the ridge near the ends above widely
spaced dormers.
The chalk white of an unusual quantity of interior hand-tooled woodwork is accen-
tuated by plaster-tinted walls. The spacious, deeply corniced, transverse hall is broken
midway by a broad elliptical arch springing from fluted pilasters. A pair of drawing
rooms are attractively joined by double-arched openings that flank their common
chimney. A glass panel in the wall now reveals B.Harrison,' traced undoubtedly by
the builder in the temptingly wet base plaster.
The estate was a part of Berkeley Hundred, a grant made to Sir George Yeardley,
Richard Berkeley, and others in 1619. The proprietors instructed the settlers of the
'Town and Hundred' that 'the day of our ships arrival . . . shall be yearly and per-
petually kept as a day of Thanksgiving.' The Margaret landed her passengers at
Berkeley, December 4, 1619?a year and 17 days before the Pilgrims amved to estab-
lish their Thanksgiving Day.
Abandoned after the massacre of 2622, the Hundred was later acquired by John
Bland, whose son Giles lived here until executed for his part in Bacon's Rebellion.
Confiscated by Governor Berkeley, the land was purchased by Benjamin Harrison
(1673-1720), attorney-general of the colony, treasurer and speaker of the house of bur.
gesses. Benjamin Harrison, his son, began to build this mansion in 2726. With two
daughters, he was killed by lightning during a 'violent Thunder Gust' in July 2745.
His son, Benjamin Harrison 0726-90, who installed the handsome interior wood-
work, was the signer, a governor of Virginia, and father of William Henry Harrison
(!77-184r), who emigrated to the Ohio Territory. William Henry Harrison achieved
his distinction in the Northwest Territory, of which he was the first secretary, and
which he represented in Congress.'The victory of Tippecanoe in r81 I gave him a last-
ing epithet and 19 years later the campaign slogan that won for the Harrison-Tyler
Whig ticket success at the polls. He died, however, one month after his inauguration.
His grandson, Benjamin Harrison visited his ancestral home as President of the
United States.
Benedict Arnold plundered Berkeley in 1781, and the estate, called Harrison's Land-
ing, served as a base and camping-ground for the Federal army after McClellan's with-
drawal from Malvern Hill. Near ka transports and under protection of gunboats, Mc-
Clellan was safe from attack by pursuing Confederate infantry, who stopped short of ? -
the river. Though McClellan remained in this position until mid-August, Lee began to
withdraw his army on July 13, to oppose General John Pope in northern Virginia.
On the same road WESTOVER, at 2.3 in. (grounds open daily, adm. Si; house open
April Garden Week), once home of the Byrd family and one of the earliest houses barilt
on the grand scale in Virginia, stands at the end of a road that winds between woods
and fields. Gates of wrought-iron, made in England long ago, swing between simple
posts on which are perched two leaden eagles with half-spread wings. The over-throw
is probably the finest piece of old English ironwork in America. The dark red brick
mansion looks upon the James across a semi-elliptical lawn framed by great tulip pop-
lar trees. Flanked by a pair of story-and-a-half wings connected by passages, the cen-
tral rectangular mass rises two stories to a steep hipped roof, with dormers. Windows
with shutters and low-arched headings of brick are evenly spaced in two tiers, sepa-
rated by a string course of brick painted white. The extremely tall chimneys, in pairs at
both ends, are important features of the composition. But the exterior chiefly depends
for accent on the centered entrances, which are framed by pilasters that support a
frieze, cornice, and elaborate pediment. The pediment over the north portal is segmen-
tal, while the cornice of the pediment over the garden door is of the broken scroll type
with the scrolls framing a pineapple. Within, four large rooms are divided by a trans-
verse hall. The walls are paneled between high dadoes and deep cornices. At the back
of the wide hall, an open-string stairway with scroll step-ends ascends behind delicate
spiral balusters in sets of three. On the east side, next to the library, where once reposed
Colonel Byrd's outstanding collection of almost 4,000 volumes, is the drawing room.
Tall pilasters frame the doors and the mantel, which is faced with black marble having
a white marble trim?imported from Italy.
Westover Plantation was selected by Captain Francis West in 2619 for his nephew
Henry, son and heir of nomas, third Lord Delaware. At the time of the massacre of
1622 Francis, John, and Nathaniel West had separate plantations here; the Indians
killed two men at each. In 1633 Thomas Pawlett represented the plantations in the
house of burgesses and in 1637 purchased the Westover tract. The Bland family la
x688 conveyed 1,200 of these acres to 'Will Bird' for L300 and io,000 pounds of to-
bacco. This first William Byrd, son of a London goldsmith, had settled at 'The Falls,'
where he founded a business fortune. His son, William Byrd 11 (1674-1744), built the
present mansion and a tradition of abundant living. Construction, begun about :73o,
was completed before 2735. Westover suffered early from two fires, the last in ITO-
Most of the line interior trim was probably installed during the second renovation
The 'Black Swan,' as Colonel William Byrd II was called, wrote amusing records of
his travels about Virginia and spent a good deal of his life in London, where, as a
grandee from the 'new wilderness,' he astonished society with his elegance. lie
thwarted the romance of his eldest daughter with the Catholic son of the dissolute
Earl of Peterborough and the beautiful Evelyn Byrd returned to Westover, where she
died at the age of 28, a disconsolate spinster. The other five cygnets, four daughters
and a son, offspring of two marriages, married well into the closed corporation' of
Tidewater society. Byrd's tomb in the garden bears his long, self-composed epitaph,
which leaves a reader equally impressed by the record of his remarkable accomplish-
ments and his serene egotism in thus advertising them. The son, William Byrd 111,
was a prodigious gambler and dissipated the family fortune.
During the Revolution Benedict Arnold landed here more than once and corre-
sponded regularly with the Byrd family, whose Tory sympathies are clearly shown In
letters written later by Cornwallis. He said in part to the Lords of the Treasury in
2789, 'She [Mrs.Byrd] had, to my knowledge, reason to expect that she should receive
reimbursement at New York for the supplies which were furnished from her planta.
tion to the various corps of British troops which passed by Westover, but she was ut-
terly disappointed [in her claim for .C6,600].' Cornwallis refers also to the Byrd* as
'sufferers of a certain description.' But Arthur Lee guessed correctly when he wrote
to Colonel Bland in 1781: I have reason to think she [AI rs.Byrdl will not be tried at
all, because care having been taken to keep the witnesses out of the way.' Sales and
good marriage alliances dispersed a large collection of portraits belonging to a family
that has been an outstanding contributor to Virginia's tradition of expansive sociai
life.
During the War between the States, the fields and lawns were frequented by Fe4.
eral troops, who destroyed the east wing and damaged the main building. The bows+
has, however, been restored, fairly well, on the whole, though the symmetry of out
dependency has been altered.
At the site of the church are horizontal slabs?one of them covering the dust of the
first Benjamin Harrison of Berkelcy?and Evelyn's elaborate tomb. Here also is the
tombstone of Captain William Perry, who died the 6th day of August Anno Domini
1637.'
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A James River plantation,
ON ROUTE 5, HALF WAY BETWEEN
WILLIAMSBURG and RICHMOND
From Richmond follow Main Street east to Route S.
From Williamsburg take Route 31 to Route S.
tWost Point
On State Route 5
Charles City, Virginia 23030
Bottoms Bridge
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ERKELEY has no peer
among the James River
plantations as a center of
historical interest and as a
beautifully restored example
of the mansions that graced
Virginia's "Golden Age." The land on which it
stands was part of a grant made in 1619 by King
James I to the Berkeley Company and was
designated "Berkeley Hundred." On December
4, 1619, the settlers stepped ashore there and in
accordance with the proprietors' instructions that
"the day of our ships' arrival .. . shall be yearly
and perpetually kept as a day of Thanksgiving"
celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day more than
a year before the Pilgrims arrived in New
England. This was but the first of many notable
events connected with this property, for it was
destined to have close association with men
prominent in our nation's history.
It was as the home of the Harrison family
that Berkeley achieved its greatness. The early
Georgian mansion, which is said to be the oldest
three-story brick house in Virginia, was built in
1726 by Benjamin Harrison, a leader in colonial
affairs. His son, Col. Benjamin Harrison, in-
herited it. Member of the Continental Congress,
Signer of the Declaration of Independence, active
in the Revolution and thrice Governor of Vir-
ginia, this Harrison was himself enough to bring
glory to his house. His close friend George
Washington often was entertained there, and
indeed, every President from Washington to
Buchanan enjoyed Berkeley's famous hospitality.
Further prestige came to Berkeley in the next
generation through Col. Harrison's younger son,
William Henry. He made his reputation in the
Northwest Territory, of which he was the first
Secretary, and as a great Indian fighter, he came
to be called "Old Tippecanoe." When he was
elected President of the United States, he re-
turned to write his inaugural address at Berkeley
in the room in which he had been born. The
Harrison family was to produce yet another
President in Benjamin, the grandson of William
Henry. As the ancestral home of two Presidents,
Berkeley has a distinction almost unique, shared
only with the Adams House in Massachusetts.
In America's wars, Berkeley did not escape
unscathed. In 1781 it was plundered by British
troops under Benedict Arnold. During the War
Between the States, it served as headquarters for
General McClellan after
his withdrawal from the
Battle of Malvern Hill.
Federal troops were en-
camped in its fields, trans-
ports and gunboats anchored
in the James. While quart-
ered here with McClellan
_ in the summer of 1862,
General Butterfield corn-
lilT "Taps." At this time,
the estate was known as
"Harrison's Landing."'
Rerkelry Datesione
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