Findowrie
Tours of home with owner
Antique car and motorcycle display
Farm Open All Day
Antique car and motorcycle display
Farm Open All Day
Findowrie, one of Albemarle County’s oldest homes and a designated Virginia Historic
Landmark, sits on a knoll facing Mechunk Creek. Today Findowrie Farm consists of 183 acres, a
small portion of a large land patent granted in 1733. The property is part of roughly 500 acres
that are under a conservation easement.
In 1778 the land was acquired by Joseph Brand, who was born in the hamlet of Findowrie in
Scotland. Dendrochronology, a scientific method of dating trees, confirms that Brand built the
original hall-parlor plan with two upstairs rooms in 1782.
In the first decade of the 1800s, Brand enlarged the house by adding a chamber adjacent to the
hall, two covered porches, and a small chamber and back room in the rear. Brand enclosed one
end chimney and expanded the original parlor chimney by adding a rare architectural feature: a
pent, or room between two chimneys. Apparently Brand replaced much of the original 1780s
trim with the current wide board wainscoting. Some original blue paint and marbleized paint on
the mantel survives today.
In its early years, the farm had a productive orchard, and multiple out buildings included a
kitchen, corn house, lumber house, and barn. Commerce between Brand’s widow and Thomas
Jefferson is documented in Monticello archives, including a letter about Jefferson’s purchase of
cider from Findowrie in 1815. In 1833 Joseph Campbell bought Findowrie’s 790 acres for
$2,672. He built the area’s first steam-powered saw mill here. Findowrie’s vein of limestone was
quarried to produce lime for sale and farm use. When Campbell’s last descendant sold Findowrie
in 1991, the land lay fallow, and the house had minimal electricity, no central heat, and no
running water.
The Findowrie house has been extensively restored and adorned with period furniture.
Furnishings include an upholstered walnut settee, a walnut China press, serpentine molded rails
and stiles, an 1820s chest, a circa 1800 cherry chest of drawers, and a tall 18th century case
clock. Two original punkah hooks in the dining room ceiling once supported a cloth-covered
frame that circulated air and kept flies off food. A sensitively designed modern kitchen was
added during Findowrie’s restoration.
Landmark, sits on a knoll facing Mechunk Creek. Today Findowrie Farm consists of 183 acres, a
small portion of a large land patent granted in 1733. The property is part of roughly 500 acres
that are under a conservation easement.
In 1778 the land was acquired by Joseph Brand, who was born in the hamlet of Findowrie in
Scotland. Dendrochronology, a scientific method of dating trees, confirms that Brand built the
original hall-parlor plan with two upstairs rooms in 1782.
In the first decade of the 1800s, Brand enlarged the house by adding a chamber adjacent to the
hall, two covered porches, and a small chamber and back room in the rear. Brand enclosed one
end chimney and expanded the original parlor chimney by adding a rare architectural feature: a
pent, or room between two chimneys. Apparently Brand replaced much of the original 1780s
trim with the current wide board wainscoting. Some original blue paint and marbleized paint on
the mantel survives today.
In its early years, the farm had a productive orchard, and multiple out buildings included a
kitchen, corn house, lumber house, and barn. Commerce between Brand’s widow and Thomas
Jefferson is documented in Monticello archives, including a letter about Jefferson’s purchase of
cider from Findowrie in 1815. In 1833 Joseph Campbell bought Findowrie’s 790 acres for
$2,672. He built the area’s first steam-powered saw mill here. Findowrie’s vein of limestone was
quarried to produce lime for sale and farm use. When Campbell’s last descendant sold Findowrie
in 1991, the land lay fallow, and the house had minimal electricity, no central heat, and no
running water.
The Findowrie house has been extensively restored and adorned with period furniture.
Furnishings include an upholstered walnut settee, a walnut China press, serpentine molded rails
and stiles, an 1820s chest, a circa 1800 cherry chest of drawers, and a tall 18th century case
clock. Two original punkah hooks in the dining room ceiling once supported a cloth-covered
frame that circulated air and kept flies off food. A sensitively designed modern kitchen was
added during Findowrie’s restoration.
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