PHILLIP PAYNE WROTE HIS WILL 6/7/1870 AND A CODICIL ABOUT 7/28/1871 (CAMPBELL B 14, P 79). CHILDREN LISTED AS FOLLOWS:
JOHN A. PAYNE - NO PROPERTY IN WILL - ALREADY HAS HIS PART.
CATHERINE M. PERROW - 500+ ACRES
MISSOURI LEMON - LISTED AS PHILLIP'S DAUGHTER WHO HAS JOHN A PAYNE AS HER TRUSTEE AND IS TO GET JOHN'S LAND.
LUCRETIA V. JOHNS - 340 ACRES
SALLY A. PAYNE - 330 ACRES
SAMUEL G. PAYNE - 430 ACRES
MOSBY H. PAYNE - 610 ACRES
HELEN K. PAYNE - 540 ACRES

CODICIL DEEDED PREVIOUSLY WILLED LAND TO SOME OF THE CHILDREN AND MAKES MARY E PAYNE EXECUTOR.

JUNE 1872 - MARY E PAYNE (WIFE) FILES WILL AS EXECUTOR - $50,000 BOND.

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Below is the Virginia Department of Historic Resources form for the "Oak Grove" property that Phillip and his father owned and that Phillip inherited, which was purchased and restored by Phillip Mathews Payne's great-great-grandson, V. Cassel Adamson, Jr., after 1989. Unfortunately, the home was struck by lightning and burned down on 12 June 2010. A much larger home was constructed on the site as a retreat for the Adamson family, completed in 2014.



This is the html version of the file http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Campbell/015-5103_Oak_Grove_2002_Final_Nomination.pdf.
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(Rev. 10-90) NPS Form 10-900 OM9 No. 10246018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Sewice NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES REGISTRATION FORM
1. Name of Property historic name Oak Grove
Location street & number 7378 Gladys Road city or town Altavista vicinity state Virginia
Property Owner
-V. Cassel Adamson
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Oak Grove's eastern wing is built of logs and mortar. The remainder of the house is frame construction resting on a fieldstone foundation. The entire structure is clad in wood siding and has a standing-seam tin roof. Windows to the east of the central front door are haphazardly spaced and uneven in size. There are three double-hung six-over-six windows in the fust story of the east wing, none of which are the same size or sit on the same level. On the second floor of the east wing a six-over-six dormer window bears some resemblance to the windows directly below it while two four-over-four windows stand on either side of a fieldstone chimney. The symmetrical west wing, ca. 1833, stands in sharp contrast to the remainder of the structure. Its three evenly spaced bays contain five six-over-six windows and a front door in the eastern bay. This entrance consists of double doors with a rectangular transom above. The contrast between Oak Grove's east and west wings becomes more marked on the rear elevation. Here the east wing juts out and is bisected by a second fieldstone chimney. A narrow central section links the east and west wings. Here a lone six-over-six window stands west of a second-story dormer. The rear elevation of the west wing minors the main elevation. Today traces of gable-roofed front porches are found at both the house's front and back doors. These features, which appear to date from Philip M. Payne's residency, have been removed and are in the process of being restored. Oak Grove's interior echoes its irregular exterior. Located in the third bay of the west wing, the front door opens onto a spacious entrance hall. To the west stands a large room that probably served as a parlor following the fmal expansion of the house in 1833. To the east a second room contains stairs leading to two attic bedrooms at the east side of the house. Originally, these chambers stood separate from rooms to the west, but now a door in the existing wall provides access across the second floor. Returning to the first floor and continuing east, one enters a second large room that probably served as the original parlor. A stair in the room's southwest comer provides additional access to upstairs bedrooms. Another rooms stands to the south of the original parlor. To the east a shed-roofed porch later enclosed two rooms that will serve as a bathroom and kitchen following Oak Grove's current renovation. Oak Grove retains a number of its original decorative features. These include the matching double doors at the front and rear entrances and cove and bead molding throughout the house. Four mantels dating from the late Federal period survive, and two found in the west wing have excellent false marbling. Significant examples of false graining also survive on interior doors in the west wing.

Oak Grove also boasts a variety of intricate stone work. Its two eastern chimneys are built of fieldstone that was probably found on the property. The fueboxes of all three chimneys are built of stone from Leesville, a small town west of Oak Grove along the Staunton River. The hearth in the original living room was made of local soapstone, and sandstone pavers in the front yard appear to have come from a local quarry. Many of Oak Grove's original outbuildings still stand. The smokehouse to the southeast of the main residence appears to date from the late eighteenth century. Like the log core of Oak Grove's east wing, the smokehouse is constructed of notched logs flattened on one side with angle cut comers. A slave quarter facing the east wing shares similar construction but is clad in wood siding. This building has short six-foot door frames and tiny windows like those found in the original section of the main house. A grain shed and a hay barn stand to the northeast of the house. These frame structures have mortared stone bases and appear to date from the early twentieth century. A privy stands at the far southwestern edge of the outbuilding complex. It too appears to date from the twentieth century. The remains of a kitchen and an icehouse stand to the southeast of the main house. Traces of Leesville stone found in the kitchen's chimney suggest that building dates from the time of Philip H. Payne's residency. Situated between the smokehouse and the grain shed, the icehouse now consists of a deep round hole six feet in diameter. The Payne family cemetery stands 300 yards beyond these N S .Philip M. Payne is buried in this rectangular, overgrown site alongside many of his descendants.

Oak Grove in Campbell County, Virginia qualifies for the National Register under criterion C, for its varied architectural elements capture the gradual evolution of Virginia architecture from pre- Revolutionary times through the early National period. Built in stages between the 1750s and 1833, Oak Grove began as a two-story dog-trot log structure built around 1750 by tobacco farmer John Payne. When Payne's son Philip inherited the property in 1784, he enlarged the house to serve as a new home for himself and his family. Philip's son, Philip M. Payne, completed Oak Grove around 1833 by adding a west wing-a classic three bay structure containing a large hall and a parlor on the first floor and a stair hall and two bedrooms on the second. Today Oak Grove remains much as it was in the time of Philip M. Payne. Five outbuildings also survive-a smokehouse, a slave quarter, a grain shed, a hay barn, and a privy as well as the remains of a kitchen and an icehouse.

Largely unchanged as a dwelling place since 1833, Oak Grove retains the imprints of its earliest occupants. It is still possible to see patterns of land use introduced by tobacco prospector Henry Chiles. Small plots of wheat and grain continue to grow on the highlands to the north and west of the house. To the south boundaries of lowland tobacco fields remain visible along the Staunton's banks. The log cabin built ca. 1750 by Oak Grove's founder, John Payne, lies beneath wooden siding in the east wing of the main house while Oak Grove's spacious western addition ca. 1833 recalls the easy prosperity of Payne's grandson, Philip Matthews Payne. Each generation left its mark on Oak Grove. Today these physical and architectural traces recall the rise of a family and a nation. Oak Grove stands on a hill overlooking the Staunton River. Once the territory of Native American tribes like the Sapony and the Monacan, the site piqued the interest of settlers during the early eighteenth century.' Due to the ad hoc nature of the colonial land mint orocess, the land that became Oak Grove belonged to two other patent holders before being re-assigned to Henry Chiles in 1746.Chiles was a colonel in the King William County Militia who took an active interest in Indian issues and the opening of land for settlement; In 1737 he moved to what is now Prince Edward and Buckingham Counties with his wife and children. There he began to explore the possibility of raising tobacco along the banks of the Staunton River. Unlike the Appomattox River, which also flowed through Prince Edward and Buckingham Counties, the Staunton had enormous potential. The Appomattox was too narrow to support transportation, and its floods were rarely dramatic enough to replenish surrounding lowlands. The Staunton, however, was wide and deep. It was navigable, and its nourishimg floods supported fertile lowland fields. Chiles quietly eyed three hundred acres along the north side of the Staunton. In 1746 he received one portion of the land through the standard land grant process. But when Chiles realized he was dying, he made arrangements to acquire the remainder of the property for his children. In his will Chiles outlined the complicated patent history of additional parcels he wanted to obtain and then reassigned his rights to particular heirs. When Chiles' children and widow claimed clear title to their plots, they conveyed their grants to John Payne. Born in 1713 in Goochland County, John Payne seems to have been one of Chiles' closest friends. Like Chiles, Payne served as a colonel in his local militia. The two may have met during one of the era's many frontier conflicts. Later Payne and Chiles appear to have planned occasional reunions in Williamsburg, for records of their unrelated land dealings appear consecutively in land grant books kept in the governor's office. At some point Chiles must have told Payne that he wanted to start a large-scale tobacco farm along the Staunton River, and Payne must have liked the concept. Before he died, Chiles began the paper process required to make his dream a reality. With the land conveyed to him by Chiles' children, Payne started a small tobacco farm along the north side of the Staunton River. Bounded by Hills Creek to the east and Cheese Creek to the west, this verdant site with its towering oaks eventually became Oak Grove. John Payne had to build a house on the property within three years to comply with his land grant. But Oak Grove was also a satellite operation, and Payne needed a place to stay on the property when he came in from White Hall, his primary residence in Goochland County. A simple log structure offered the perfect solution. This small house serves as the core of Oak Grove's east wing. It is unclear if this building is the original structure built by John Payne around 1750, but it stands parallel to Oak Grove's former slaves' quarters-a common configuration on eighteenth century Virginia settlements.' The house is also symmetrically placed with respect to the smokehouse, the kitchen, and other outbuildings. The relationship between these structures indicates that the structure may have been the original focal point of the property. Moreover, the rustic cabin seems suited to the modest needs of a military man like John Payne. Payne remained active in Goochland affairs until his death. He served as a member of the House of Burgesses from 1752 to 1768, and as revolutionary sentiment grew, he became a member of the Committee of Safety of Goochland. These activities did not diminish his commitment to Oak Grove. Slowly, Payne transformed Chiles' woody plots into a prosperous tobacco farm. By 1782 he owned 1600 acres along the Staunton and was active in local politics. When local landowners began to lobby for the subdivision of Bedford County in 1779, Payne joined the cause. Together the group drafted over a dozen petitions to the Virginia Assembly which resulted in the passage of an act creating Campbell County in 1781. When John Payne died in 1784, he left Oak Grove to his son Philip. Apparently, the fledgling tobacco plantation was more valuable than Payne's other holdings, for Philip had to pay a small fee to collect his inheritance. For a driven young man with powerful connections, this would be a small price to pay. In 1784 Philip Payne had just married Elizabeth Dandridge. Between them the couple had blood ties to three Royal Governors including Alexander Spotswood, George [correction--Samuel] Matthews, and John West. In addition Philip's sister-in-law was married to Patrick Henry. Famous relations did not spare them from an age-old dilemma, however-Philip and Eliza had a new baby, and they needed a place to live. As he did not own another large estate, Philip Payne might have seen Oak Grove as the perfect starter home. He expanded his father's log house to make it more suitable for his genteel young bride and their growing family. During his occupancy, Payne raised door heights and closed the central passage in the dog trot house. He removed one of the interior log walls and the house's original stair, covered interior walls in plaster, built a new central stair, and encased the structure in wood siding. Tax records imply that Payne's renovation may have been carried out over a fifteen-year period. In 1786 Philip owned 1080 acres valued at $2,900. By 1796 the property's value had leapt to $9,670. As he improved the house at Oak Grove, Philip Payne transformed his father's fledgling farm into a small empire. Following a series of deft land acquisitions, Oak Grove grew from 1080 acres worked by 35 slaves in 1786 to 6000 acres worked by 250 slaves in 1800. Payne also worked to improve Campbell County's infrastructure. He served as an officer on the Roanoke River Navigation Company and invested in local mills. By 1803 Payne realized he needed a new center of operations. He moved his family to Airy Mont, a plantation located five miles downriver where the Staunton flows around a highland called Brown's Mountain before separating into wide low grounds. From this strategic location Payne could keep an eye on his ever-expanding interests. It is not know who lived at Oak Grove after Payne's move to Airy Mount until 1819 when Philip Payne deeded Oak Grove to his twenty-one-year-old son Philip Matthews Payne. Philip M. Payne followed the family tradition of serving in the local militia and gradually expanded his holdings. He seems to have remained in the updated house until 1832 when he married Mary Mitchell. Married life inspired Payne to improve and expand his family's home. A tax assessment from 1833 notes building improvements. By this time Payne had probably completed Oak Grove's new west wing. Linked to his father's home on the east, this two-story structure introduced a classical, Federal style main block to the irregular building. Its three-bay faqade, which faced north, included a new main entrance. Philip M. Payne's appreciation for the finer things in life was reflected in the decorative details of Oak Grove's new west wing. The hall of this new addition was lined with fashionable wallpaper, some of which survives today. Interior doors adorned with intricate false graining attest to Payne's refined taste as do marbleized mantels. One dining room mantel dating from Payne's occupancy even includes a hand- carved rope pattern in its moldings. Payne also seems to have had a marked interest in stone. Large slabs of fieldstone forming the foundation of his new western addition appear to have been harvested from outcroppings on his property. These rough blocks of quarried stone stood in marked contrast to the small field stones supporting the log house. Many of the house's decorative details also centered around stonework. This may have been the result of Payne's relationship with his brother-in-law John [correction--William] Peerman. Peerman owned a quarry three miles west of Oak Grove where he harvested and processed soapstone and sandstone. A soapstone hearth in the living room and a sandstone paved walk in the front yard seem to date from Philip M. Payne's residency and appear to have come from Peerman's quarry. Peerman may have also advised Philip M. to use Leesville stone in fueboxes and chimneys throughout the house since it was both colorful and fire resitant.These insets remain intact today. Philip M. Payne may have arranged the stone's shipment along the Staunton River from Leesville as his father had served as an oecer in the Roanoke River Company. Traces of Leesville stone may also be found in the west wing's end chimney, in the slave quarter chimney, and in the remains of the kitchen chimney. Philip M. Payne owned Oak Grove until 1867 when he conveyed the property to his daughter Helen K. Payne. The Civil War and Reconstruction marked the beginning of a new era for Payne's estate. Without slaves the labor-intensive process of tobacco farming was abandoned, and Oak Grove became simply a family home. Helen K. Payne mortgaged the property with the note held by other Payne relatives, and in 1886 the note holders conveyed the property to John L. Lee. The Lee family held the property for two generations before conveying it to J. H. Adams [James Hardwick Adams] in the 1950s. Adams' executor sold the property to the present owner in 1989. Fortunately, subsequent owners outside the Payne family respected the house and left it virtually unchanged. As a result, Oak Grove remains a well-preserved document of the Federal era and the cultural changes that shaped America in that period.

Additional notes:

Henry Chiles' daughter Ann also believed in the economic potential of the Staunton River. Following her father's death, she and her husband John Ward amassed large holdings immediately west of Oak Grove. 7 Diane Popek, Tracks Along the Staunton (Altavista, VA: Altavista Printing Co., 1984) 3 1. 8

Soapstone was suitable for fireplace hearths and paving stones but could not sustain extreme heat without damage. For this reason, heat resistant Leesville stone was used to line fireplace boxes.

Sources for the above information:

BIBLIOGRAPHY Clement, Maud Carter. The History of Pittsylvania County Virginia. Lynchburg, VA: J.P. Bell Company, 1929. Fitzgerald, Madalen Vaden. Pittsylvania: Homes and People of the Past. Danville, VA: Womack Press, 1974. The Historical Committee of the Bicentennial Commission of Campbell County, Virginia. Lest It Be Forgotten: A Scrapbook of Campbell County Virginia Altavista, VA: Altavista Printing Co., 1976. Meyer, Virginia M. and John Frederick Dorman. Adventurers of Purse and Person: Virginia 1607-1624/5. Richmond: Order of First Families of Virginia 1607-162415, 1987. "Paynes Acquired Land. " The New Campbell County Chronicles. Published for the Campbell County Bicentennial, 1982, p. 89. Payne, Brooke. The Paynes of Virginia. Harrisonburg, VA: C.J. Carrier Company, 1977. "The Payne Family of Goochland," Virginia Historical Magazine 79-83; 174; 200; 313- 317. Popek, Diane. Tracks Along the Staunton. Altavista, VA: Altavista Printing Co., 1984. Weeks, Elie. "Hickory Hill." Goochland County Historical Society Magazine Autumn 1977: 3-11.