About

Located on the old road between the Hanover Courthouse and Mechanicsville, Cool Well is a small, Tidewater-style house that effectively evokes this part of Hanover County's historic connection to the Tidewater region. The house was constructed for Benjamin Hazelgrove in 1834-35, a former militiaman and tavern operator from 1827 to 1838. Though it cannot be proven that he operated his tavern at Cool Well between the time of its construction and the issuance of his last tavern operator's license in 1838, the house's location on a main road would have lent itself to that use. Its most significant feature is its collection of mantels, which link it stylistically with five nearby houses, suggesting that they were made by the same builder. This once-common type and period of house is now rare in Hanover County, having fallen to the increasing development pressure. Cool Well thus endures as a rare survivor of Hanover's rich historical past.