The Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation Announces Restoration of Historic Hampstead in New Kent County, Virginia

HOUSTON , September 19 /Businesswire/ - Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation dedicated to historical preservation and land conservation, today announced it has begun the restoration of the historic Hampstead estate in New Kent County, Virginia. Built in 1825, Hampstead is one of the Virginia Commonwealth’s most noteworthy Greek Revival residences.

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The Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation Announces Restoration of Historic Hampstead in New Kent County, Virginia. Built in 1825, Hampstead is one of the Commonwealth’s most ambitious Greek Revival Residences. (Photo: Business Wire)

“Hampstead holds a special place in Virginia history, and it is our duty to ensure its legacy is preserved for generations to come," said Founder of the Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation, John B. Poindexter. “We’re committed to historical reverence and preserving these architectural treasures.”

Hampstead's distinguished status was affirmed when it was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Acquired by the Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation in December 2021, the property's restoration journey commenced in mid-2022, with the dedicated partnership of architectural and historical experts. Notably, Joseph F. Yates Architects and the James River Institute for Archaeology, and Pitts & Associates contracting have all lent their expertise to the cause.

The Foundation is set to embark on archeological work to unearth lost dependent buildings and gain deeper insights into the cultural landscape that shaped Hampstead. Efforts are focused on identifying and interpreting structures while uncovering how Hampstead functioned as an integrated whole. Outbuildings at Hampstead are a testament to its historical significance, comprising structures like an early 19th-century office, agricultural buildings, an icehouse, a brick granary in ruins, and a kitchen chimney repurposed as a landscape folly. The estate's expansive grounds exhibit remarkable terraforming and terracing, reflecting the strategic design that characterized its era.

“We conducted an extensive amount of research and physical investigation in the estate and outbuildings before beginning the restorations. We want to ensure we have an understanding of how Hampstead worked as a whole so we can restore the structures to tell the story,” said historian Bryan Clark Green, Ph.D. “So far, we’ve been able to replicate some of the original pieces of the residence that had been previously removed, while also repurposing original materials in the process.”

The Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation is devoted to restoring Hampstead in a way that pays homage to and enriches Virginia's historical tapestry. This meticulous restoration journey is set to conclude in 2024, creating an enduring legacy that will stand as a testament to preserving and commemorating the cultural heritage of Virginia.

To learn more about the Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation, visit https://tidewaterandbigbend.org/.

About the Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation

The Tidewater and Big Bend Foundation is a Texas 501(c)3 nonprofit, founded and endowed by John Poindexter in late 2020. The Foundation acquires, restores, reconstructs and preserves significant historical structures and expansive rural landscapes in the Big Bend region of West Texas and Tidewater, Virginia.

Complementary to building and land restoration, the Foundation acquires and exhibits historical art and artifacts and reconstructs lost structures on its properties. Through the combination of these elements, the Foundation intends to create an educational tableau of rural life in former times. Craftsmen, historians, archeologists, and academics are employed to enhance the understanding of historical structures and lands and their origins. The Foundation engages biologists and botanists in the furtherance of its mission to conserve the flora and fauna inhabiting its rural lands. To date the Foundation has acquired, or will acquire by gift, nine historical properties and 5,200 acres of rural land.

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