Historic Kittiewan Manor House & Museum

Headquarters of the Archeological Society of Virginia

Mailing & Physical Address:
Archeological Society of Virginia
12106 Weyanoke Rd.
Charles City, VA 23030

Telephone:
(804) 829-2272

TOURS
Open second Saturday of each month April thru November, 10 am to 4 pm, subject to Virginia’s prevailing COVID restrictions.
School groups and other groups are welcome; call for appointment.

KITTIEWAN MANOR HOUSE

ASV Headquarters

Kittiewan, ASV's home and museum, Charles City, Va-Terri Aigner photo

KITTIEWAN IS . . .

Home of the Archeological Society of  Virginia (ASV)

Historic Kittiewan became the home of the ASV in 2007 due to a generous final bequest from William Cropper, long-time resident of Charles City County. Cropper and his wife, Wilma, wanted to ensure that the property would remain a working farm and historic site. The ASV manages Kittiewan’s 720+ acres, which include wooded areas, cultivated fields, and cleared domestic spaces that border Kittiewan and Mapsico creeks.  The property encompasses Kittiewan’s historic Manor House, and a modern Visitors’ Center, as well as two historic cemeteries, military earthworks, and terrestrial and underwater archeological sites.  Housed at the Visitors’ Center are the ASV’s library and archives, as well as regional archeological collections and the massive collection that the Croppers acquired as the basis for their planned “Museum of Americana.”

ASV volunteers guide tours of the historic house and grounds during scheduled Open House days; opportunities for research in the library, archives, and archeological collections can be arranged by appointment.  Kittiewan also has served as a training site for ASV’s certification program.

Kittiewan manor house

ASV Headquarters & Visitors' Center

asv_visitors_center_at_kittiewan-by-terri-aigner_c_2016

ASV Certification Training

8,000 Years of History

By the time that John Smith explored and mapped the Virginia colony in 1607-1609, Native Americans had occupied this land for nearly eight millennia; today, archeological investigations at Kittiewan have revealed abundant evidence of their presence here.   English exploration paved the way for new occupants to settle in this region. Over the next 400 years, descendants of those European and (initially enslaved) African newcomers labored to develop Kittiewan as a working farm, producing crops such as tobacco, wheat, corn, and hay, and harvesting the property’s abundant timber resources.  Kittiewan and the surrounding area also were impacted during the Civil War. Confederates routinely patrolled nearby roads and the James River, while Union forces constructed fortifications across the property to protect troops as they crossed the river in 1864.

Segment of John Smith's 1607-1609 Map of Virginia

Native American Pottery Fragment

Native American pottery fragment photo by Terri Aigner

Union Fortifications

Union troop fortifications at Kittiewan

An architectural “diamond in the rough”

The centerpiece of the Kittiewan experience is the property’s historic Manor House, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  The core of the Georgian-style residence was built during the last half of the eighteenth century, likely by or for Dr. William Rickman, who served as Director of Hospitals in Virginia during the American Revolution.  The elegant paneling and woodwork in the original section of this dwelling are particularly noteworthy. Subsequent owners modified and enlarged the house, which today also displays rotating exhibits of William Cropper’s Americana collection.  Visitors to the house today can observe the on-going restoration efforts that have revealed hidden architectural details masked by over 200 years of continuous modification.

Unique Interior Architecture

Kittiewan Today

kittiewan-manor-house

Ongoing Archeology

Archeological examination of historic fireplace

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