Bolling/Bowling
Sites
Current
Name of Site: Cedar
Level
Previous
Names of Site:
Type
of Site: House
Original
Owner: Robert Bolling II
Date of Original
Construction: 1705
Current Condition:
Cedar Level is in a severely deteriorated stage.
The three dormer windows have fallen through the roof so the interior
has been exposed to the weather for the past three years.
Last Bolling Family
Owner: Theordorick Bland,
Jr.
Street Address:
812 Cedar Level Road
City:
Hopewell
County:
Chesterfield (originally Prince George)
State:
VA
Zip Code:
23860
Country:
USA
Nearest City:
Petersburg
Access Possibilities :
The property is privately owned. At
this time visitors are not welcome. You may stop at the end of the driveway on
Cedar Level Road, which ends there.
Driving Directions:
From I 295 exit 9B going east on SR36 to Ashland St, turn left, proceed
two blocks, cross RR tracks, the house is 500 feet on the left in a grove of
Cedar trees.
Current Owner:
Mrs. Alex J. Heretick
Phone:
Mailing Address:
812 Cedar Level Road
E-mail:
Website:
Other Contact
Information: Mrs. Heretic’s
son-in-law, is presently representing her in selling the property.
Phone number: (727) 823-1230, ext. 229 or ext. 232.
Other
Current Contacts:
Bolling Family
Significance: This the oldest
Bolling home still standing in America. It
was built very near the time of Robert Bolling I death (1645-1709).
Number of Generations:
Three generations
Historical Signifigance:
During the Civil War Federal Troops used the house as a hospital and
Headquarters.
Summary
of Site History: Originally Cedar
Level was part of Robert Bolling I’s land, which included Kippax , extending
to the banks of the Appomattox River. Today,
Cedar Level has 22 acres.
Succeeding
Owners: Robert Bolling II lived
at Cedar Level with his wife, Anne Cocke, whom he married in1706, with their
eight children. Drury Bolling,
his younger brother eventually owned all of Kippax and Cedar Level.
Drury’s daughter and only child, was the next owner followed by her
son, Dr. Theordorick Bland, Jr. They
had no children. At his death in 1790, his widow, Martha Dangerfield Bland
inheirited the property. She
remarried to Nathan Blodgett.
After his death she married Captain Curran, moving to Paris and died there.
In 1816, the property passed from her estate to her husband’s nephew,
Samuel Perkins. In 1828, he sold
254 acres to Daniel Eppes, who sold it to John Meade, whose widow sold to
William Watkins. His son, Samuel,
sold to J. B. Corner, whose widow inherited it.
A granddaughter of J. B. Corner, Mrs. Julius J. Heretick,
inheirited both Kippax and Cedar Level.
Alex Heretick’s widow now owns Cedar Level.
Details
of Building and Grounds: There
are 22 acres remaining at Cedar Level. It
is surrounded by homes in an area called Farmingdale, which is from the land
owned long ago by the first Robert Bolling.
The house still stands but has had no maintenance for many years.
A large barn is just behind it, very close to the RRtracks.
The Hereticks built a brick ranch house
100’ feet to the north.
Full
History of the Site:
Graves
on Site: Mrs. Alex Heretick,
present owner, said her husband remembered being told as a child, there were
some unmarked graves in the yard just to the east of the house.
Noteworthy
Cemeteries Nearby: Markers for
Jane Rolfe Bolling and her father, Thomas Rolfe, are in the front yard of
Kippax; Cobbs.
Family
Heirlooms at Site: None
Other
Interesting Facts:
Family
Bloodlines of Previous Owners:
Other
Bolling Sites Nearby:
Home
History References:
Source
of Information: James Patton,
Julian Robertson, Mary
Mitchell Calos:
Photos
of Site: Union Headquarters at
Cedar Level (1865) in the Brady Collection,: Library
of Congress
Other
Photos: Yes, more recently and
1910 A. Robbins, Jr. Collection: