Family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to auction off three historic plantations in Virginia
A trio of historic Virginia plantations owned by the family of West Virginia’s governor, billionaire businessman Jim C. Justice, will hit the auction block later this month.
The three properties, each with active farmland, include Flowerdew Hundred, a plantation on the James River in Prince George County that was originally granted in 1618 to colonial Virginia Gov. George Yeardley. Named for Yeardley’s wife, Temperance Flowerdew, it was one of the earliest English settlements in America.
The plantation centers on a 14,000-square-foot manor-style house with 12 bedrooms, nine full bathrooms and three half-baths. Currently, about 620 of the property’s 1,300 acres are devoted to farming.
Horseshoe Farm, set on 880 acres at the junction of the Robinson and Rapidan rivers, was originally part of a grant given by the English crown to Gov. Alexander Spotswood.
It centers on a Greek Revival-style mansion, built in 1859, that retains its original murals, marble columns and 14-foot ceilings. A total of 12 bedrooms, six full bathrooms and eight fireplaces lie within more than 7,200 square feet of living space.
Farmland, ponds, formal gardens and a vineyard make up the grounds.
The largest of the properties, at 1,700 acres, is Rapidan Farm in Culpeper, Va. The property includes a roughly 4,500-square-foot main house, a manager’s house and tenant houses as well as outbuildings for grain handling and livestock.
Also on the property is a swimming pool, a cabana and multiple tennis courts.
Jay Justice, the son of Jim Justice, said in a statement that the family’s decision to sell the properties was motivated by his father’s commitments as governor of West Virginia.
The auction, run by Premier Estates Auction Co., is scheduled for June 28.
Twitter: @LATHotProperty
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