SOLD $104,500 - The Historic Tompkins House – Sells to the Highest Bidder

ABSOLUTE REAL ESTATE AUCTION
 

Thursday, March 4^th at 4:00PM

Registration & Inspection Begin at 3:00PM

1023 Kelleys Creek Rd.

Cedar Grove, WV

Beautiful, Nationally Registered “William Tompkins House”

SELLS TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

Built in 1844 by William and Rachel Tompkins, this historic “Cedar Grove” house was nominated for inclusion in the National Register by the State Historic Preservation Office on January 27, 1975 and was subsequently entered into the National Register of Historic Places on January 31, 1975.  This house is a colonial style [structure] which had Georgian features blended with elements of more recent design adaptation. It is a ‘double-pile’ house drawn out to a two-room-deep rectangle with central hall and five-window width.”

The house comes with a rich and fascinating history.  Its builder, William Tompkins, came to the area in 1818.  William’s second wife, Rachel Grant Tompkins, was the aunt of Union General Ulysses S. Grant.   Several artifacts from the Civil War era have been recovered on the property.

The last Tompkins to live in the house was Roger Tompkins II (1936–1997). He was an author, president of the West Virginia University student body, Rhodes Scholar, member of the House of Delegates, and Attorney General of West Virginia. Patty Vandergrift Tompkins donated a considerable trove of documents to the state archives, which resides under the title, “Tompkins Family Collection,” and includes documents from 1838–1983.

There is also a literary element to the house’s significance. Mary Lee Settle, whose mother was a Tompkins, spent a considerable part of her youth at the house in the company of her grandmother, Addie Tompkins. Ms. Settle—possibly the best-known of novelists from West Virginia and author of the Beulah Quintet (set partly in a fictional Cedar Grove and consisting of Prisons, O Beulah Land, Know Nothing, The Scapegoat, and The Killing Grounds), and the autobiographical Addie—was a fashion model and an actress, and even did a screen test for the part of Scarlett O’Hara. After turning to writing, she won the National Book Award for Blood Tie (1978) and founded the annual PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction). She was an associate professor at Bard College from 1965–1976 and taught at the University of Virginia.

Addie is set partly in the Tompkins House, and references can be located on the property (the current owners reconstructed the stone well on the back porch based on the description in the book).

The current owners rescued and fully restored the property in 1999, updating the plumbing, electrical, and installing HVAC. Also included on this parcel is the original office/guest house and a Victorian style playhouse.

Potential uses as a business include private residence, antique store, and bed & breakfast. The house is near mountain trails and the area is becoming a destination for 4-wheeling. It sits at the western entrance to some of the East Coast’s best whitewater (Gauley and New Rivers).

Exterior Features

• 3.1+/- acres
• Built on foundation of bluestone boulders.
• Constructed of handmade bricks fired on site.
• Original dentil moldings
• Original slate roof 
• Original windows and shutters
• Three porches (One upper sleeping porch, two lowers)
• Original boxwoods
• Flagstone front walk and side terrace
• Original well with stonework rebuilt.

Interior Features

• 3,978+/-sq feet
• 5 Bedroom
• 3 Bath
• Library Room
• Piano Room
• Generator
• Central Heat & Air

• 12 large rooms with 11’ ceilings
• Original intricately patterned hardwood floors
• Original built-in shelving
• 9 fireplaces
• 3 bathrooms
• Central heat and air
• Gas furnace, hot water heater and clothes dryer
• FREE NATURAL GAS!

Appurtenant Structures

• Jenny Lind style cottage Guest House - 2 Bedroom/1 bath; new roof; central heat & air, large front, and back porches.
• Original “smoke” and “milk” houses
• Victorian Style playhouse with loft

District 4, Map 2, Parcel 39 & 40

Questions? Please Contact Blake Shamblin at (304)476-7118