Richard Bland Lee: Gentleman Farmer

Under Richard Bland Lee's ownership, Sully changed from a tobacco farm into a multi-crop operation. Lee improved the worn soil with nutrients and crushed limestone and used crop rotation to increase productivity. The farm grew wheat, rye, timothy, clover, and corn, and raised cattle, hogs, sheep, and horses. Cherry trees lined the driveway to the main house, and Sully's orchard produced apples, peaches, plums, quinces, apricots, and pears. A two-acre kitchen garden supplied a variety of vegetables. Completed in 1801, the stone dairy provided cool storage for eggs, milk, butter, and cheese. Sully's farming operations were overseen by a farm manager who carried out Lee's instructions, while enslaved laborers and some indentured servants did the work. A 20th-century archaeological excavation found evidence of three structures, part of an early slave quarter, along Sully's south road.

Sully Square, Virginia · United States