Garth Road

From Cvillepedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Garth Road - White Hall to US 250 (Ivy Road)

Garth Road is a road in Albemarle County.

In its entirety, Garth Road covers 17-miles of winding roads in Albemarle County. It connects the community of White Hall to US 250 Bus (Ivy Road) near the Birdwood Estate west of the City of Charlottesville. It is believed to have taken its name from the Thomas Garth family.

History

Garth Road is part of an early road system of Albemarle County. Once a major colonial-era northwest-southeast route connecting the community of White Hall with Charlottesville - the county seat since 1762. It is believed to have taken its name from the Thomas Garth family.

Garth Family

Thomas Garth, the first of the Garth family in Albemarle County, bought nearly 2,000 acres, most of it in the Ivy area of Fredericksville Parish, between 1762 and 1779. His family built several notable houses in this area, including the Barracks (built by Jesse Winston Garth around 1800) and Birdwood (built by William Garth around 1810). The family was active in the affairs of the Episcopal Church in Albemarle County during the nineteenth century and worshiped primarily at Christ Church in Charlottesville. Members of the Garth family continue to live in the region and their historical impact on the area is found in the names of several farms and roads in the proximity of the church.

Route description

Along the way, more precisely at the intersection of Free Union Road (SR 601) Garth Road changes from SR 614 to SR 601. As Garth Road (SR 601) passes over Ivy Creek, it becomes known as Old Garth Road (SR 601) running adjacent to a tributary of Ivy Creek (Old Mill Road) ending near the Birdwood Estate at US 250 Bus (Ivy Road).

Geography

Route

White Hall

Prior to the closing of all public access through Shenandoah National Park within Albemarle County in the latter 1930s, travelers heading west through White Hall and Sugar Hollow had three options to choose from to cross the Blue Ridge, dependent on their destination in the Valley.  https://www.crozetgazette.com/2017/02/03/the-gaps-in-albemarles-blue-ridge-history/

Garth Chapel

St. James Church, which is locally known as Garth Chapel, is located on a one-acre tract of land on the north side of Garth Road (Route 614) approximately five miles outside of the City of Charlottesville. The surrounding topography is gently rolling and features a mixture of historic estates, farms, and more recent residential subdivisions. Garth Road runs within fifty feet of the church's facade and is separated from the building by a three-board white wooden fence with a gate found on the eastern end. Significance: This is a typical example of the many small parish churches built during the late nineteenth century in response to the ecclesiological movement. Constructed in 1896, the Garth Chapel is a typical example of the small parish churches built during the late nineteenth century. It has remained in the Garth family and has survived relatively unchanged. The St. James Church has had a long association with the locally prominent Garth family, many of whose family members are buried in the church's two cemeteries. The church, which has been consecrated since 1896, is still owned and maintained by Garth family descendants through the Trustees of St. James Church.

Fox Field

Brown's Cove

Cherry Valley

Jesse Garth House, Albemarle, 1805, 1820s, late 19th century 1997-1999

St. James Episcopal Church

Garth Road Chapel, Owensville, ca. 1896 1986

Olivet Presbyterian Church

Garth Road, ca. 1880

Garth Tavern

1982-1992

Revolutionary War Barracks

The Barracks, Garth Road, 1778-1781

Garland A. Garth's Tavern

Birdwood Estate

See also

Elizabeth Wheeler Hawkins (the mother of Cain Hawkins) was originally a slave owned by the Gillums in Millington off of this road in the vicinity of White Hall before being sold to the Harrises.[1]

References

  1. Web. Hawkins, Mr. and Mrs. Cain, Jefferson's University, 02/16/2022