Three Gloucester properties will be open Saturday, April 26, as Historic Garden Week begins its perennial springtime in Virginia display of notable homes and properties.
Garden Week, which began in 1929, is the premiere project of the Garden Club of Virginia, and is organized in localities by its member clubs. The Garden Club of Gloucester and Mathews is the local sponsor.
Homes to be open on the local tour this year are Holly Knoll on the York River, and North River neighbors Exchange and Blythelea.
Holly Knoll, built in 1935, was the retirement home of Dr. Robert Russa Moton, who had been president of Tuskegee Institute. It was a strategic meeting place for civil rights leaders in the mid-20th century, and today is headquarters of The Gloucester Institute, which fosters emerging leaders.
Blythelea, located on Hickston Lane, is on a peninsula between Toddsbury and Elmington creeks, facing North River. The home was built in 1947 and presents a colonial look, spacious rooms and a pine g...