Suffolk, Virginia
AT A GLANCE
The birthplace of Planters Nuts goes nuts every year for Peanut Fest. For four days each October, Suffolk Peanut Fest draws around 200,000 people to celebrate everyone’s favorite legumes. The event is most noted for the peanut butter sculpture contests. But there’s more than just peanuts in Suffolk. Fine dining, shopping, theater, art exhibits, conferences, historic tours and 111,000 acres of the Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is Suffolk in a nutshell.
The First Lady, circa 1908, is a century-old Queen Anne/late Victorian-style multi-gable building located on historic West Washington Street in Suffolk, Va. With nine bedrooms, this 8,850-square-foot home is bounded by Mansion Row to the west and Main Street’s business district to the east.
The story of The First Lady begins in 1889, when, according to insurance maps, the Suffolk Collegiate Institute first set up residence. The co-educational school operated until 1907 when a fire severely damaged the building and the school finally closed. One year later, in 1908, J.C. Causey Jr., a veteran of the Spanish American War, rebuilt the home as a personal residence. In 1935, the property was converted into a funeral home, which was in use for 70 years.
Heirloom Homes purchased the building in 2005, and has undertaken top-to-bottom renovations. Heirloom Homes kept true to the building’s historic features, like the weatherboard siding, wood shingles in the gable ends, multi-light window sashes and an entry with transom and sidelights. The two-and-one-half-story building also features a wraparound Colonial Revival porch, detailed cornice and Doric columns on brick piers.
In 2004, The Virginia Department of Historic Resources officially deemed the building historically significant and its district is included in the National Register of Historic Places.
The First Lady is located in Suffolk’s Central Business District Zoning, which allows both commercial and residential uses.
For more information, call Doug Aronson of S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. at 757.640.5423, e-mail him at daronson@slnusbaum.com or visit slnusbaum.com.
THE FIRST LADY
Location-447 W. Washington St., Suffolk, VA
Housing Type-Victorian, Queen Anne
Price-$895,000
Delivery Date-Fall 2008
Co-op-3%
Developer-Mickey Boyette