The Upper James 



sand, two hundred and ninety-three acres. On November 24, 1828, 

 John Allen, executor and trustee of William Gait, deeded Point of 

 Fork to James Gait, a nephew of the first owner of that name. 



The red brick house, with white marble trim, is of Georgian 

 design, and is still one of the handsomest in this part of Virginia. 

 It is said that the massive timber of which it is constructed was 

 selected with great care and allowed to season several years before 

 it was used. The floors are hardwood, the doors and banisters 

 of mahogany. In the wide hall, which runs the length of the house, 

 there is a graceful elliptical stairway with mahogany rails. Broad 

 entrance steps lead up to the porch, and this also extends the width 

 of the house for about sixty-five feet. This porch is upheld by 

 large white columns which extend up to the roof. The present 

 owner has added many modern improvements and put in order the 

 terraced gardens and shrubbery for which Point of Fork was once 

 famous. 



The gardens, which are large, were laid out with great care 

 and expense. They lie some distance from the house, and on both 

 sides, and many of their walks are bordered with Florentine orris. 

 They consist of six terraces, each of which is sixty feet wide and 

 one hundred and fifty feet long. There is a wide bed at the foot 

 of the last and the corners of each are rounded by paths leading 

 around them to the main walks. The latter, which range from one 

 to one hundred and fifty feet in width, extend along each side of 

 the terraces. On the other side are beds, thirty feet broad, running 

 with the walks the entire length of the garden. Both walks and 

 flower beds show the natural slope of the garden, which is very 

 gentle, as the terraces range only from four to five feet in height. 

 The exposure of all is southwest. 



The soils on the various terraces are all different in character 

 and composition, some having been hauled from a distance, some 

 from the woodland, and still others from the rich lowgrounds, as 

 was frequently done in the best old Virginia gardens. The front 

 of the garden, which has the shape of a concave curve, opens upon 



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