Coastal Plain and Fancy
 

 
Jerry Sutton House, Bucklesbury vicinity, circa 1860

Jeremiah (Jerry) Sutton (1834-1900), in the Buckleberry vicinity, had a frame house with piazza built for his family about 1860. The Sutton House was plainly and sturdily constructed, with gable-end brick chimneys and a large piazza with plain posts and railing. The transom and sidelights around the double front door brought a bit of style to the otherwise vernacular dwelling. An 1889 family photograph shows Jerry, his wife, two sons, two daughters, and the family dog standing on both sides of the picket fence. A luxuriant flower garden blooms inside the fence. Sutton married three times and this wife is believed to be Sarah Croom Sutton. In 1860 the family owned seven slaves; a small building at the far right is said to have been a slave quarters. Two black girls one named Rose and one whose name is unknown stand in front of this structure.

                                          Christopher and Nancy Turner log house, Woodington Township. circa 1850

Christopher and Nancy Turner's log house stood in Woodington township until the 1990's. The couple probably built the log house about 1850, when Christopher Turner, a teacher, married Nancy Stroud. In 1860 their farm was valued at $500.00. Built of round logs set on lightwood blocks, the house had a mud and stick chimney at each end. The gabled roof sheltered each chimney to protect the mud from the weather. The kitchen occupied a separate building. By 1870 Christopher and Nancy were raising eight children between the ages of one and seventeen in the small house. Christopher must have spent most of his time teaching, because only 12 of his 162 acres were cleared. The farm produced small amounts of Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes, butter an milk from two cows, and meat from a heard of fifteen pigs.