Virginia

Fairfield, Richmond, Virginia (37.565879, -77.553709)

Primary House Felling Dates: Winter 1789/90, Winter 1788/9, Spring 1788, Winter 1787/8

Site Master 1566-1789 (yellow pine) FFVAx1 (t = 9.26 BPVAx1; 9.20 DGVAx1; 8.92 BSPS5).

Fairfield (formerly known as Rocky Mills) is a high-style Georgian plantation mansion, two stories high and covered with a hipped roof with two interior chimneys. Originally built in Hanover County, it was dismantled in 1928 by Frederick E. Nolting, who had the house moved and re-erected with some modifications for his own residence on a bluff on the north bank of the James River in Henrico County, just west of Richmond. Nolting and his wife changed the name to "Beau Pre," which means "Fair Field" in French.

Dendrochronological analysis has shown that the building was constructed from timbers felled over a period of time spanning the winter of 1787/8 through to the winter of 1789/90, suggesting that the house was constructed at this time or shortly thereafter.

Worthington and Seiter 2024 "The Tree-Ring Dating of Fairfield (Formerly Rocky Mills), Richmond, Virginia." Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory 2024/19.

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Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory

25 E. Montgomery St.
Baltimore, MD 21230

410-929-1520