Belle Farm House

From Tappahannock, intersection of Queen St. (Rt. 360) and Rt. 17, take 17 north 4 miles to Rt. 712. Turn right and go one-half mile to end of road.

Belle Farm House has a peripatetic history: woodwork in the rear wing has been used in four separate locations and that of the main house, three. The front portion was built at an unknown date on land that was part of Warner Hall in Gloucester County. The rear portion was part of a house at Gloucester Point that was used as a hospital during the Revolutionary War and was later moved to the Belle Farm location near the Severn River. In 1930 the Williamsburg Reconstruction Corporation purchased the house and removed the floors and woodwork. As a country house, however, Belle Farm was not appropriate for reconstruction in the restored area. John Latane Lewis, Jr., the father of the present owner, bought the woodwork from Colonial Williamsburg. In 1951-52 he re-constructed the house in Williamsburg where the family lived until Mr. Lewis died and Mrs. Lewis entered a retirement home in the 1980s.

The current owners, Mr. & Mrs. Shepherd Fitz-Hugh Lewis, through the efforts of master craftsman Albert M. Zettl of Aylett in King William County; had the woodwork removed from the Williamsburg house and used in the construction of the present Belle Farm House at its location on the Rappahannock River. Notable features include fine paneling and interior woodwork - wainscoting, crown and dentil molding, and magnificent mantles. The furnishings are a mixture of family pieces and antiques acquired by the owners. The exterior appearance bears some resemblance to the original Gloucester structure and to the construction in Williamsburg; however, certain modifications to the size and location of porches were made to provide a better view of the Rappahannock River, which is one-and-a-half miles wide at this point. The house was open to Historic Garden Week visitors on the Williamsburg tour in 1955. Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd E Lewis, owners.