Virginia

Shelton House, Mechanicsville, Virginia(37.660808, -77.347002)

Inserted Floor Center Bay Felling Dates: Winter 1723/4

Site Master 1670-1723 (pine) slva1+2 (t = 8.69 RPHCVAx1; 6.57 VA021; 5.68 SJC).

The Shelton House is a one-and-a-half story brick structure with a gambrel roof and an English basement. Today located within the Richmond National Battlefield Park, it was historically a part of the larger Rural Plains plantation owned by the Shelton family, serving as the Union Army headquarters during the Battle of Totopotomy Creek in May 1864. An historic structures report prepared by the National Park Service in 2012 details the evolution of the building:

“The Shelton House as it exists today retains architectural elements from a long evolutionary history. An original construction date of circa 1725 is derived from a dendrochronology study conducted on wooden framing members of the house in 2007 [Cook et al. 2007]. Two significant remodelings took place in roughly halfcentury increments, circa 1785 and 1835, based on stylistic characteristics of the building materials used. Damage inflicted by the Civil War Battle of Totopotomoy Creek in May 1864 was most likely repaired in short order, although some battle scars are still visible on the exterior brickwork and attic framing. Improvements made by the Shelton family in the twentieth century included the installation of new flooring, widened doorways, a north window, bedroom closets, central heating, electricity, and plumbing. A one-story wing on the west side of the house replaced an open porch around 1948. Since acquisition of Rural Plains by the National Park Service in 2006, efforts on the house have been focused primarily on repair and stabilization of rotting woodwork and crumbling masonry.” (Yocum 2012:151)

A previous dendrochronological study undertaken in 2006/7 determined that the original construction date of the Shelton House was probably during the period of 1724 to 1726. The present dendrochronological study focused on determining the construction date for a flooring structure on the second floor of the building. This flooring structure was inserted when the original staircase of the building was removed from the center of the house and a new staircase was inserted in the back passage of the house to the west of the original staircase. The present dendrochronological study has shown that the floor was constructed with a timber that was felled in the winter of 1723/4, leading to the conclusion that the timber was likely used in the construction of the original staircase and then reused to make the flooring that replaced it at a later date.

Worthington and Seiter 2023 "The Tree-Ring Dating of the Shelton House, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Mechanicsville, Virginia." Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory 2023/14.

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