About

Although antebellum Halifax County was dotted with small farm complexes, the area also saw the establishment of vast plantations with architecturally sophisticated houses. John R. Edmunds, owner of 1,110 acres on Birch Creek, was able to build an Italian Villa-style mansion at Redfield with money he earned from the sale of grain to Russia in the Crimean War. The house, with its formal façade, bracketed cornice, and low wings connected by arched openings, was completed in 1857 and follows the prescription for a "small Villa in the Classical manner" promoted by Andrew Jackson Downing in The Architecture of Country Houses (1850). Emphasizing this formality on the interior is a monumental single-run central stair dominating the entrance hall. Edmunds, in addition to being a successful planter, was an advocate of reconciliation during Reconstruction. His handsomely restored house at Redfield remained owned by his descendants through the end of the 20th century.