Edenetta

From Tappahannock, intersection of Queen St. (Rt. 360) and Rt. 17, take Rt. 17 north 13 miles. Turn left at crossover and follow signs to house.

Edenetta was built in 1823 by Robert Payne Waring on a land grant from the king and passed into the Baylor family at the marriage of Lucy Waring to Richard Baylor, where it remained until 1984 when Dr. and Mrs. Robert Y. Coleman purchased the property and began renovation. The land has been designated a stewardship forest, the first in Essex County, with plots set aside for plantings to preserve wildlife.

The two-and-a-half story brick manor house with English basement is noted for its four massive Tuscan columns of Aquia sandstone , which reach skyward two stories from its stone porch and pyramid steps. The interior ceilings are adorned with elaborate cut plaster work and moldings. The dining room has a black Egyptian marble fireplace, and the parlor has a white Italian marble one. During restoration, the owners replaced the back (now road side) porch; added a stairway in the front hall; added the kitchen-library wing; restored parts of the faux graining on interior pine doors; and developed a formal boxwood garden with a large stone fountain in the center of the parterre. The original stone pillars remain as do two of the outbuildings - the brick smokehouse (now serving as a garden house) and the old kitchen/servants' quarters, still under restoration. Furniture from the Baylor family that remains in the house includes an unusual square piano, a large secretary, a bookcase now being used as a china cupboard, and two sideboards with marble tops. Open for the first time to Historic Garden Week visitors. Dr. and Mrs. Robert Y. Coleman, owners.