This creepy old house may look like a classic haunted mansion, but it has a fascinating history
I found this big, beautiful antebellum house sitting behind a U.S. Post Office in the small town of Woodstock, Virginia. When I arrived on the scene early one Saturday morning ready to photograph it, I knew nothing of its history, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Here’s what the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form said about the house:
“The Judge Mark Bird House, located behind the Post Office on South Muhlenberg Street, is also one of the three finest antebellum houses in Woodstock. Built about 1840 for Mark Bird, judge of the 18th judicial circuit, the two-story frame and weatherboard house is Woodstock’s best example of the Greek Revival style. It has a shallow gable roof, denticulated cornice, and a plain frieze board. Large 6/6 sash windows with refined trim accent the facade, while a central entrance features sidelights and a transom divided by large scroll brackets. Above the entrance is a second-story tripartite jib window that gives access to the flat roof of an elegant three-bay wooden portico with fluted Ionic columns and a full entablature. The house, which once housed the Woodstock Female Seminary, was moved back from Muhlenberg Street in 1932 to make room for the town post office.”
As can be clearly seen in my detailed black and white photographs below, the “denticulated cornice” mentioned above, has since had its teeth pulled. The dentils are now missing.
Video: Join fine art photographer Keith Dotson on location as he shoots photos of this crumbling southern mansion
Black and white photographs of the historic Judge Mark Bird House in Woodstock, Virginia
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Sources and links
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. Page 7 – 8. July 27, 1995.