Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

HISTORY

Once described as a "long frame house" with "beautiful gardens." the Coke=Garrett House provides an unusual blend of architecture and furnishings, covering the period from before the Revolution to the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

Located next door to the Public Gaol and across the street from the colonial Capitol, the five lots occupied by the house, its outbuildings, and garden had a lively succession of owners through the first half of the eighteenth-century—a baker, silversmith, gaoler, ordinary-keeper, barber, constable, burgess, perukemaker, and carpenter. In 1755 John Coke, a successful goldsmith and tavern-keeper who already owned the three easternmost lots, added the two nearest the Gaol, and the property has been a unit ever since.

The house consists of four sections and is probably the best example in Williamsburg of the architectural continuity that flowed from one ear to the next. The west wing dates from the pre-revolutionary period and was in existence in 1755 when Coke established the present property lines. The central section, which is of two-and-a-half stories, was added about 1837, and the small eighteenth-century east wing was moved and attached to the house after 1837. The brick office, built about 1810, completes the property.

John Coke owned the property until his death in 1767, when his son, Robey Coke, inherited that part of the estate within the Williamsburg city limits. The house was used as a n ordinary by Mrs. Sarah Coke, John's wife, and later operated by Richard Singleton.

John Coke, Robey's nephew and a grandson of the first John Coke, acquired the property in 1785. The house and lots changed owners several times, and by 1810 the Richard Garrett family is listed as owner.

In 1838 Dr. Robert M. Garrett, a local surgeon, became owner of the premises. Dr. Garrett, who served as mayor of Williamsburg on several occasions, was also superintendent of Eastern State Hospital. The appearance of the house about 1861 was described over half a century later as "a long frame house … looks very much today as it did then … Beautiful gardens surrounded this estate. …" The property remained in the Garrett family until 1927 when Dr. W. A. R. Goodwin, acting on behalf of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., acquired the property for Colonial Williamsburg.

FURNISHINGS

In addition to its architectural blend, the Coke-Garrett House provides an expression of the subtle changes that occurred too, in interior furnishings in the years following the Revolution.

The house contains a small but representative collection of late eighteenth-century and early nineteenth-century antiques, predominantly of American origin. Chinese export porcelains, carpets from the Middle East, and, of course, English silver, ceramics, prints, and other decorative items, accentuate the thriving world-wide trade of the new nation.

Three rooms and the east hall on the first floor contain furnishings from the early post-colonial period. Highlights in the dining room include an interesting southern sideboard, with a distinctive star inlay at either end and unusual bellflowers on each leg. In the center of the room is a large, double-pedestal English dining table surrounded by a set of fourteen New York Federal-style chairs.

In the library are an attractive Massachusetts desk and bookcase, both attributed to the noted Boston cabinetmaker John Seymour, an early nineteenth-century Thomas Sheraton settee, and a banjo clock made by Aaron Willard, Jr., of Boston.

Of unusual interest in the parlor is a pair of caned Sheraton-style setees made in the Far East, but with an early history of ownership in Williamsburg. To the right of the fireplace is a Baltimore side table with a round back following the profile of the half-round niche in which it is placed. The room also contains a representative group of chairs popularly known as the Martha Washington type.

The story-and-a-half west wing existed by 1755 when purchased by John Coke. The porch is one of the few eighteenth-century porches remaining in Virginia. Its railing complements the "Chinese Chippendale" stair railing of the interior.

The central section of two-and-a-half stories was added by the Garrett family about 1837. The unusual spaciousness of the well-lighted rooms is due to the one room deep plan.

This small eastern wing was moved to its present location after 1837. The wing itself dates to the late eighteenth century.

This building dates from 1810-20. In 1862 it was serving as Dr. Garrett's office where he later treated Civil War soldiers.

The hallway in the eastern portion of the house is hung with a French scenic wallpaper made about 1790 which blends well with the trim on the woodwork, an original color for the house. Flanking the door to the parlor is an unusual pair of Baltimore side tables with marble tops. In the western hallway off the library, the furniture is of eighteenth-century design, compatible with the simple "Chinese Chippendale" stairway, which is original to this portion of the building.

GARDENS AND GROUNDS

The site to the west of the Coke-Garrett House has been revised to agree with details on the Frenchman's Map, drawn in 1782. An area to the west of the west wing, roughly 60' x 110' in size, has been enclosed, and the ravine shown prominently on the map, running roughly in a southwesterly direction toward a larger one to the west of the Gaol, has been re-established.

A large amount of dwarf box hedging concentrated in two areas—the fenced enclosure to the west shown on the Frenchman's Map and the two-level turf-paneled area on the north axis of the main portion of the house—offers pleasant vistas in several directions over the boxwood to the pastures beyond.

Other plant materials of note to be seen on this property are: crape myrtle, swamp-bay magnolias, southern magnolia, fragrant sumac, redbud, bayberry, mountain-laurel, common lilac, Virginia rose, osage-orange, American hornbeam hedge American holly, tree boxwood, blackhaw viburnum, pecan black-walnut, red maple, white and pink dogwood, purple-leaf plums, shadbush, Canadian hemlock, fringe-tree, yaupon holly, eastern red cedar, hackberry mulberry, paper mulberry, and loblolly pine.

TODAY

The Coke-Garrett House today is the Williamsburg home of Carlisle H. Humelsine, president of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and Mrs. Humelsine. The Humelsine family living quarters include the west portion of the house and the upper floors of the other sections. The first floor of the house is utilized at various times for official functions and special events.

RESTORATION

Based on careful analysis of all of the available information and evidence, it was decided that the West Wing, the Middle Unit, the East Wing and the detached Brick Office be retained in their basic entirety and restored on the exterior to their respective co-existive characteristics.

This decision recognized the fact that in all probability the Middle Unit, the relocation of the East Wing and the Brick Office are of l9th century origin; however, their design and structural elements are in the Colonial and Classical tradition and, therefore, warranted retention and restoration under the precepts set forth by the Committee of Advisory Architects in 1928. The West Wing was built in the first half of the eighteenth century and it was decided to restore this wing, continuing to retain its 19th century co-existive alterations.

It might be interesting to note that in 1928 and 1932 various alterations, preservations and repairs were undertaken to make this structure suitable for first a life tenure and then for a particular tenant.

KITCHEN - WEST

CHIPPENDALE STAIR HALL - West

**Hostess - Please make notes on any comments made on this rug. Miss Lanier would like a record. There will be several 19th c. collectors.

LIBRARY

PARLOR

EAST STAIR HALL

DINING ROOM

EAST KITCHEN

MAIN HALL - UPSTAIRS

DRESSING ROOM

MASTER BEDROOM

UPSTAIRS PARLOR

UPSTAIRS BACK HALL

UPSTAIRS BACK BEDROOM

THIRD FLOOR BEDROOM