UPPER BRANDON 



PPER BRANDON, so called In contradistinction to 

 the older plantation of which it was once a part, 

 lies also on the south side of James River. The 

 three miles of roadway leading to It from Brandon, 

 family seat of the Harrisons, is very lovely, wind- 

 ing at times along the brink of the river, and again 

 through woodland dense in shade and greenery. 



Although several generations junior to its venerable sisters, 

 Brandon, Shirley and Westover, a hundred years have come and 

 gone since the spacious foundations for the house at Upper Brandon 

 were laid on the fertile slope, one hundred and fifty yards back 

 from the river. 



Built by William Byrd Harrison, son of Benjamin Harrison, 

 of Brandon, its general plan is somewhat like that of the older 

 place, though the lines are a trifle more massive, and the wings 

 have two stories. The situation of the dwelling commands one 

 of the best river sites, and the park which surrounds it Is heavily 

 shaded by many trees. Conspicuous among the latter are the wil- 

 low oaks, which have made such prodigious growth that now they 

 rear their tall tops above the highest gables. Still other trees upon 

 the lawn are beech, poplar and magnolia. 



Box lines the walks leading from the front of the house to the 

 old terraced garden, where they end in a serpentine, now somewhat 

 difficult to trace. This design, the only one of the kind In Amer- 

 ica, is said to be one of the oldest and rarest to be found in 

 England. Within many of its sinuous curves jonquils and grape 

 hyacinths are naturalized, giving in spring an effect both beautiful 

 and interesting. This dwarf boxwood found a genial home in the 

 soil of Upper Brandon and, during the past centuries, has made 

 such notable growth that now It Is the glory of the place. 



The garden Itself, which suffered greatly from 1862 to 1865, 



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