The Farm

The Farm stands on a 1020-acre tract acquired by Nicholas Meriwether in 1735 and later owned by Col. Nicholas Lewis, uncle of Meriwether Lewis. A building on the property likely served as headquarters for British Col. Banastre Tarleton briefly in June 1781. In 1825, Charlottesville lawyer and later University of Virginia law professor. John A. G. Davis purchased a portion of the original tract and engaged Thomas Jefferson’s workmen to design and build this house. It is considered one of the best surviving examples of Jeffersonian residential architecture. Maj. Gen. George A. Custer occupied the house as his headquarters for a brief time in 1865.