 | Documentary History of the Construction of the Buildings at the University
of Virginia, 1817-1828 |  |
Notes
Chapter 4
265. Lewis Mumford, "The Universalism of Thomas Jefferson," in The South in
Architecture, 63-64.
266. Jefferson alluded to Cabell's complaint and the visitors' mounting discord in his letter
to James Breckenridge, Robert B. Taylor, James Madison, and Chapman Johnson of 8-26
July 1819, located in ViU:TJ.
267. See Watson to John Hartwell Cocke, 8 March 1819, in ViU:JHC. While Watson's
complaints apparently did not lead directly to any changes at the university, they are fairly
indicative of the fact that as a group the other visitors lacked a full agreement with
Jefferson's overall plan. Watson's unflattering portrait of the university should not be
understimated, however, because although he was now no longer a visitor, he was a member
of the House of Delegates, where the battle for the university's purse strings eventually
would be waged, and he still could exert some influence. His letter to Cocke, who already
agreed with many of Watson's complaints, may have served as an impetus for Cocke to
finally take decisive action to alter the design more to his own liking.
268. See the Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, 29 March 1819,
in PPAmP:UVA Minutes.
270. Cabell to TJ, 17 April 1819, ViU:TJ; see also Cabell, Early History of the University of
Virginia, 174-76. When publishing this letter in 1856, Nathaniel F. Cabell wrote that his
uncle "Mr. Cabell was wont to relate several pleasant anecdotes--better suited to a social
circle than to a permanent record here--relative to the dissent of the other Visitors, not only
from the plan of the buildings, but other novel and cherished ideas of the author; to the
respectful manner in which their counter-opinions were conveyed to the venerable rector,
and to the adroitness with which they were met. Their motives for general acquiescence are
well stated by his biographer, Mr. Tucker. Though every essential part of the establishment
required the sanction of the Board of Visitors, yet, on almost all occasions, they yielded to
his views, partly from the unaffected deference which most of the Board had for his
judgment and experience, and partly for the reason often urged by Mr. Madison, that as the
scheme was originally Mr. Jefferson's, and the chief responsibility for its success or failure
would fall on him, it was but fair to let him execute it in his own way. They doubted, also,
concerning one or more features of its organization, and certain principles on which it was
proposed to conduct its government. These they knew would be tested by time and trial, and
errors, when manifested, could be corrected by their successors" (ibid., 174).
271. Cabell's concerns about flat roofs echoes former visitor David Watson's statement that
"I fear too that the flat roofs will leak, for I scarcely ever knew a flat roof in Virginia that did
not" (Watson to Cocke, 8 March 1819, ViU:JHC).
272. "My idea of the Greek & Roman & French plan of oval rooms & seats rising one above
the other for an area, Col: [Wilson Cary] Nicholas thinks would be objectionable in
this--that they would render the rooms useless for the accomodaton of the Professors at
other hours than those of Lecturing. I had not foreseen this objection" (Cabell to Cocke, 15
April 1819, ViU:JCC).
273. By "upper level" Cocke means the Lawn, as contrasted to the eastern and western
ranges. See the Board of Visitors Minutes, 29 November 1821.
274. For Cocke's sketches, which Frederick Doveton Nichols suggested might be the four
drawings of dormitories in ViU:TJ by an unidentified draftsman, see Nichols, Thomas
Jefferson's Architectural Drawings, nos. 374, 375, 376, and 377). Brockenbrough requested
the drawings from Jefferson in early June along with Jefferson's study of Hotel A, which is
also missing (see Brockenbreough to TJ, 7 June 1819, in CSmH:TJ). Lasala includes those
drawings in his thesis, but does not attribute them to Cocke (see #19-08, #19-09, #19-10,
#19-11, and #19-12 in Lasala, "Thomas Jefferson's Designs for the University of Virginia").
277. TJ to Brockenbrough, 17 May 1819, ViU:PP. Brockenbrough had laid off the grounds
in preparation for construction to begin while at the site in April.
278. TJ apparently completed all the drawings for the pavilions of the east lawn by the end
of June (see TJ to ASB, 27 June; see also the description of #02-01 in Lasala, "Thomas
Jefferson's Designs for the University of Virginia").
280. TJ to James Breckenridge, Robert B. Taylor, James Madison, and Chapman Johnson,
8-26 July 1819, ViU:TJ. For a discussion of the effects on Jefferson's architectural drawings
by his adaptation of Cabell's suggestion, see Lasala's descriptions of #00-13, #00-14,
#00-15, and #00-16 in "Thomas Jefferson's Designs for the University of Virginia." Robert
B. Taylor, already informed by Senator Cabell of the alteration of the ground plan, told
Jefferson on 27 July that in writing to him "You have imposed on yourself, Sir, a very
unnecessary trouble, as I shoud have adopted, with entire satisfaction, whatever measures
you judgment & experience led you to pursue" (DLC:TJ).
282. Garrett to Brockenbrough, 12 May 1819, ViU:PP. Cocke wanted to unite the hotels and
dormitories in "massive buildings of 2. or 3. stories high," a proposal Jefferson could not
concede to. See TJ to James Breckenridge, Robert B. Taylor, James Madison, and Chapman
Johnson, 8-26 July 1818, in ViU:TJ, and appendix E.
284. TJ to Brockenbrough, 27 June 1819, ViU:PP. The proctor's design has not been
identified (see in Lasala, "Thomas Jefferson's Designs for the University of Virginia,"
#03-03).
287. Jefferson owned the 1766 edition, edited by the French printer and publisher Charles
Antoine Jombert (1712-1784). See #4216 in Sowerby, Catalogue of the Library of Thomas
Jefferson, 4:380.
288. Oldham to TJ, 21 June 1819, ViU:TJ. Lasala speculates that Oldham's draught was an
unidentified drawing or drawings that might be copies of an architrave detail from Palladio
(see the description of #19-15 in Lasala, "Thomas Jefferson's Designs for the University of
Virginia").
291. These three mills were in Albemarle County. Gilmore's may be Gilmers Mill on Buck
Island Creek which was operated by George C. Gilmer in the mid-nineteenth century and
razed after 1907. Garths Mill on Ivy Creek is sometimes called Gaths Mill. Reuben Maury's
mill, been built around 1810 and run by John Wheeler in 1814, was located on Moores
Creek at Frys Spring. The enterprising university contractor John Perry became Maury's
partner in 1819. See DNA: Records of the Bureau of Census, Manufactures of
Fredericksville Parish, Albemarle County, 1820.
299. Oldham to Brockenbrough, 20 June 1819, ViU:PP. William D. Meriwether delivered
3,140 feet of "1 Inch bordes and thirty feet of Scantling" to Oldham on 20 May, costing
$59.45 (Loose Receipts, 6 and 12 July 1819, ViU:PP).
300. See Jonathan Michie Account with James Oldham, 17 July, and Loose Receipts, 29
September 1819, in ViU:PP.
301. William D. Meriwether to James Oldham, Invoice for Scantling, 18 September, and
Jesse Garth, Account with James Oldham, 15 October 1819, ViU:PP.
306. John Bishop, Account with Richard Ware, 16 August to 6 September 1819, ViU:PP.
John Bishop apparently operated a sawmill with his brother, Joseph (see DNA: Records of
the Bureau of Census, Manufactures of Fredericksville Parish, Albemarle County, 1820).
307. Ware to Brockenbrough, 22 September 1819, ViU:PP. James Stone operated a sawmill
in Albemarle County (see DNA: Records of the Bureau of Census, Manufactures of
Fredericksville Parish, Albemarle County, 1820).
310. The bursar requested local merchants to submit proposals for "furnishing the
University" (Alexander Garrett to Brockenbrough, 17 May 1819, ViU:PP).
311. See Peter Carr to TJ, 14 August 1814, in ViU:Carr-Cary Papers. Winn also served in
the county militia during the War of 1812. See List of Militia Subscriptions, 1812,
ViU:Maury Papers.
312. For example, John Winn & Co. arranged for the purchase and shipping of $894.68
worth of sheet iron from Baltimore in September, which apparently arrived at the university
by the beginning of November. See John M. Perry to Brockenbrough, 4 September 1819,
ViU:PP.
313. Bramham & Jones, Proposal, 16 May 1819, ViU:PP. John Winn and Horace Bramham
served on a committee that arranged a July 4th celebration in 1823 which Jefferson declined
to attend because of "age and debility" (see TJ to John Winn, William C. Rives, Daniel M.
Railey, John M. Railey, John Ormond, Horace Bramham, and George W. Nicholas, 25 June
1823, in Ford, Jefferson Correspondence, 10:276-77.
315. Brockenbrough to Garrett, 2 August, and Brockenbrough & Harvie, Invoice for Nails,
2-16 August 1819, ViU:PP. When the first shipment arrived on 6 August contractor John
Perry wrote beneath the proctor's letter that "I have received the articles expressed in the
above note but had No money to pay. I wish verry much to See you here on business that
Cannot be done to well any where else." Guthrie later hauled more nails and other hardware
to the university for the Richmond firm of John Van Lew & Co. See Loose Receipt, 27
October, 14 and 18 November 1820, in ViU:PP.
316. Brockenbrough & Harvie, Account with the University of Virginia, 2 August 1819 to 2
June 1821, ViU:PP.
317. Oldham to Brockenbrough, 1 August 1819, ViU:PP. Oldham previously had notified
the proctor that John Perry "has disappointed me in my window silns and I have to looke for
them from some other qurter . . . I Shall soon want a little asortment of Nails, brads, &
sprigs for my window frames; the Planke kiln is not yet compleated" (Oldham to
Brockenbrough, 20 June 1819, ViU:PP).
320. John Van Lew & Co. to Brockenbrough, 8-9 September, and Loose Receipt, 12
September, in ViU:PP. The glass cost $90 and the hinges and screws $15.25. See John Van
Lew & Co. to Brockenbrough, 1-24 September 1819, in ViU:PP.
323. John Van Lew & Co., Account with the University of Virginia, 9 August 1819 to 27
July 1820, ViU:PP.
326. Peyton wrote Brockenbrough on 2 December saying that "I have this day recd. from
Sabbaton of New York 199 Window Waites" for the university, which will be detained until
I hear from you" (ViU:PP). On 9 December Peyton paid $8.84 cash for "freight, Wharfage,
Dragage Canal Toll & Commssn. for recg. & fordg. 199 Window Waits for the University of
Va. from N. York" (Peyton to Brockenbrough, 27 March 1820, ViU:PP).
327. P. A. Sabbaton to Brockenbrough, 24 December 1819, ViU:PP. Sabbaton resubmitted
his bill on 20 February 1820 after Brockenbrough failed to pay it. See Sabbaton to
Brockenbrough, 20 February, and 9 March 1820, in ViU:PP.
331. James Leitch, Account with the University of Virginia, 13 May 1819 to 15 April 1820,
ViU:PP. The $827.87 worth of unlisted items sold to John M. Perry ($183.12), James
Dinsmore ($200.98), Richard Ware (166.68), Giacomo and Michele Raggi ($189.23),
Nelson Barksdale ($26.71), John Harrow ($10.25), and James Oldham ($50.90) were
probably for personal consumption and had to be charged back against the workmen's
accounts with the university.
332. See Thomas Cooper to TJ, 5 January 1819, TJ to Cooper, 15 April, and Cooper to TJ,
28 July 1819, in ViU:TJ.
334. John Van Lew & Co. to Brockenbrough, 3 October 1819, ViU:PP. Van Lew shipped 20
boxes of tin (at $14 each) to the university in June 1820 by wagoner James Stone and 16
boxes more a month later by Thomas Jackson (see John Van Lew & Co. to Brockenbrough,
14 June, 21 July 1820, in ViU:PP). D. W. & C. Warwick, another Richmond firm, offered to
sell up to 100 boxes of tin to the university for the same price (see D. W. & C. Warwick to
Brockenbrough, 25 April 1820, in ViU:PP).
335. See Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the Central College, 26 February 1819, in
ViU:TJ.
338. Brockenbrough to TJ, 7 June 1820, ViU:TJ. The proctor possibly was thinking of
gutters when he wrote Thomas Perkins of Boston for an estimate of the cost of "Thin
copper" in early June. See Perkins to Brockenbrough, 12 June 1820, in ViU:PP.
339. See Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the Central College, 26 February 1819, in
ViU:TJ.
346. Huffman and Fray, Proposal for Laying Pipe, 15 April 1820, ViU:TJ; see also Arthur
Spicer Brockenbrough, Statement of Expenditures, 30 September 1820, in DLC:TJ, and
Alexander Garrett's Statement of Vouchers, 14 September 1819 to 14 May 1822, in ViU:PP.
Brockenbrough's statement lists Lewis Bailey and William Boin "& others" as ditching for
the pipes, earning together $111.17 for their labors.
347. Brockenbrough to TJ, 7 June 1820, ViU:TJ. Jefferson later included "bringing water in
pipes" in his estimate of the $10,000 cost for "numerous other contingencies" like covering
with tin instead of shingles and levelling the grounds and streets. See his Statement of
Probable Costs for the Buildings, 28 November 1820, ViU:TJ.
348. William B. Phillips to Brockenbrough, 20 August 1819, ViU:PP. George W. Spooner,
Jr., reiterated Phillips' uneasiness that his men might become idle in a letter to
Brockenbrough of the same date, located in ViU:PP.
349. John Hartwell Cocke, Jr., to John Hartwell Cocke, 27 August 1819, ViU:JHC. On 25
September the younger Cocke wrote his father again, informing him that "I have not been
able to go up to the University since I recieved your last Cas the weather has been very bad
ever since and therefore I can't answer you's with respect to the things which I omitted
before" (ViU:JHC).
350. Phillips & Carter, Account with Alexander Garrett, 28 August to 22 September, and
Phillips to Brockenbrough, 8 September, 1819. Alexander Garrett delivered 67 cords of
firewood to the kiln at cost of $167.50 for the wood plus $30 for 6 days wagonage, and John
Bishop delivered 20 cords to the kiln for $50. The following explanation of clinkers and
their importance in bricklaying cannot be improved upon: "Generally a number of bricks in
the kiln or clamp are overburned or partly vitrified--this to such an extent sometimes that
partial fusion causes two or more bricks to run together, forming one mass more or less solid
throughout. Overburned bricks are know as 'burrs' or clinkers. The latter name is probably
derived from the quality imparted by vitrifaction, which causes them to give a clinking
sound when struck. Or the name may have been taken from the vitrified masses of coal, the
product of furnaces in which great heat is sustained, and which are distinquished from the
ordinary cinders by the name of 'clinkers.' The first name, 'burrs,' may have some reference
to the fact that the bricks have been over-burned" (The Stonemason and the Bricklayer,
202).
A cord measures 4 x 4 x 8 feet.
352. Minutes of the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, 4 October 1819,
PPAmP:UVA Minutes.
353. TJ to Thomas Cooper, 19 November 1819, ViU:TJ. In a postscript Jefferson added that
"the Pavilion, besides a large lecturing room, has 4. good rooms for family accomodation.
one of them below, large enough for you study & library; a drawing room & 2 bedrooms
above. kitchen & servant's rooms below. the adjacent dormitories (14. f. square) can be used
for your apparatus & laboratory."
354. TJ to Cooper, 8 March 1820, ViU:TJ. Actually, the doors and windows could not be
hung until after the plasterer finished his work (see TJ to John Vaughan, 8 March 1820, in
PPAmP:Maderia-Vaughan Collection).
357. George Wilson Spooner, Jr. (1798-1865), the son of Sally Drake and George W.
Spooner, Sr., of Fredericksburg, worked with John Neilson on the construction of John
Hartwell Cocke's magnificent Palladian mansion on the James River in Fluvanna County,
Upper Bremo, from 1817 to 1819 before coming to the university. At this time Spooner was
boarding with contractor John M. Perry (see Spooner to Brockenbrough, 13 August 1819, in
ViU:PP); in 1821 Spooner married Perry's eldest daughter Elizabeth, and, when Perry
decided to move to Missouri in 1835, the Spooners lived at Montebello, the stately house
that Perry built for himself in 1820 about a half mile south of the unversity. Spooner, who
worked with Perry on Senator William Cabell Rives addition to Castle Hill and on Frascati,
Judge Philip Barbour's Orange County home, built Cocke's Temperance Hall near the
university in 1855, and four years later he put William A. Pratt's "Gothic Revival facade
with gables and towers" on the Albemarle County courthouse (Lay, "Charlottesville's
Architectural Legacy, Magazine of Albemarle County History, 46:45-46). Between 1 Nov.
1819 and 25 Nov. 1822 Spooner received at total of $7,076.28 for his work at the university,
including $1,870.30 for Hotel C and $1,690.34 for Hotel E (ViU:PP, Ledger 1).
361. Someone, apparently one of Jefferson's granddaughters, wrote this note on
Brockenbrough's letter to Jefferson of 12 October and forwarded it to Bremo.
362. Neilson's "existing engagements" included the building of Cocke's Palladian mansion
at Upper Bremo.
363. Cocke to Brockenbrough, 14 October 1819, ViU:PP. The proctor agreed to a modified
version of Cocke's arrangement in a letter to him of 27 October (ViU:JHC).
Brockenbrough's engagement with Spooner apparently contributed to a misunderstanding
between Cocke and Neilson about the latter's contract in the winter of 1820. See Neilson to
TJ, 15 February 1820, in ViU:TJ.
| Documentary History of the Construction of the Buildings at the University
of Virginia, 1817-1828 | |