. Historic Virginia homes and churches . hland Coimty, for the past halfcentury the hospitable home of Mr. John Coles Ruther- 182 HOMES AND CHURCHES foord aiul his family, takes its name from the high rockyl)hiff overlooking James River, upon which the house isj)erche(l. The simple cottage with vine-covered jjorch andsloping dormer roof hears little likeness to a castle, but itis well worthy of consideration, for it has its place in thesocial iiistoiy of Virginia and has suftered from two is one of the oldest homesteads in this section. Theplantation was seated nearly two hun
. Historic Virginia homes and churches . hland Coimty, for the past halfcentury the hospitable home of Mr. John Coles Ruther- 182 HOMES AND CHURCHES foord aiul his family, takes its name from the high rockyl)hiff overlooking James River, upon which the house isj)erche(l. The simple cottage with vine-covered jjorch andsloping dormer roof hears little likeness to a castle, but itis well worthy of consideration, for it has its place in thesocial iiistoiy of Virginia and has suftered from two is one of the oldest homesteads in this section. Theplantation was seated nearly two hundred years ago by]Mr. Tarleton Fleming (according to tradition, a descend-ant of the Earl of Wigton, in Scotland), whose wife wasMary Randolj)!), of Tuckahoe. Colonel William Byrd inhis Progress to tlw Mi lies (17>32) mentions a visit toTuckahoe, where he met Mrs. Fleming, on her way tojoin her husband at Rock Castle, thirty miles farther upthe ri\er in a part of the country little settled, and butlately redeemed from the RDCK CASTLE, CIIII ]( ) ((IINTV Upon the death of Tarleton Fleming, Rock Castlepassed to his son, Thomas INIann Fleming. Upon hisdeath it was bought by Colonel David Bullock, a promi-nent lawyer, of Richmond, who kept open house, and lib-erally dispensed old-fashioned Southern hospitality there,for years. Some time after the death of Colonel Bullock, KICHMOXD AM) THE L ITER JAMES 183 Governor John Kiithcrfoord houj^lit tlie estate as a sum-mer home, and it finally l)eeame the residenee of his son,yir. Jolm Coles Ruthertoord, of Richmond, who modern-ized the front of the house. However, the (juaint archi-tectural featiues of the Colonial period may still he seenat the rear. Durinji the Revolution, Rock Castle was visited hy araiding party under General Tarleton, who angrily cutdown and hore away the coat-of-arms of Tarleton (juar-tered witli Fleming from the wall of the panelled parlor. Years later, during the raid around Richmond, a party
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