Going, Going, Gone…

Gone!  All that is left of the stately old home and property are remnants of a chimney and graded dirt.
(click any image to enlarge)

There is a very small town, really not much more than a crossroads, in southeastern Virginia called Dendron.  The population according to what i can find is about 250.  Back in 2009, while out wandering with my camera looking for interesting subjects to photograph, I drove through Dendron and saw an old abandoned house.  The house was unusual in its size and architecture for the area and I felt it was quite photogenic.  I stopped and made some images from a variety of angles and moved on.  Periodically, as I drove through that area, I would stop in Dendron and rephotograph the old, derelict house.  Over the years, I documented its slow deterioration.

Last Saturday, I was out wandering and happened to be near Dendron so I thought it was time I made another photograph of the old structure.  The last time I had photographed it was in 2024.  The photograph at the top of this column is what I saw.  The old homestead was gone.  Wiped out.  Obliterated.  Not only was the house gone but all of the very old, stately mature trees on the property—huge oaks and pines.  I can understand razing the structure but cannot understand completely removing everything unless whomever owns the property wants to either build something big and new and had no use for the existing vegetation or will use the land for farming.  I think it sad, frankly.

Here is some information I was able to dig up about the house.  Below that are a series of images I made of the property over the past 17 years.  I picked ones that are similar in composition for comparison purposes.

This structure is known as the Thomas D. and Cornelia Spratley Parker House. It is perhaps the most iconic abandoned landmark in the town of Dendron, Surry County, Virginia.

The house was built around 1890. It was conveyed to Cornelia Spratley Parker and her husband, Thomas, by her father, Stith Spratley, that same year. 

At the time, Dendron was a booming "company town"—the headquarters and main milling site for the Surry Lumber Company. The house reflects the prosperity of that era; while many residences in Dendron were modest worker cottages, the Parker House was a high-style residence intended for a prominent family.

The Parker family who built and lived there were central to Dendron's civic and commercial life during its peak.  Thomas D. Parker served as Dendron’s first postmaster and was the vice president of the Bank of Dendron. He was also a merchant and a member of the town’s first town council established in 1896.

The house is a classic example of Late Victorian/Queen Anne frame architecture adapted for a rural setting: 

The most distinctive feature is the imposing two-story projecting bay window. 

The front porch is of the decorative "Eastlake" style brackets and spindles, which were popular during the 1890s. 

It features a brick foundation and a metal "tin" roof, which was common in the region to protect against fires in a town dominated by lumber mills.

The house has been vacant for roughly 30 years, having been vacated for the final time in the mid-1990s. 

The decline of the structure is largely attributed to a failure in its built-in gutter system (gutters integrated into the eaves). Once these began to leak, water seeped into the frame and the interior, accelerating the decay of the wood. 

Today, the property is owned by a local farming family whose land surrounds the structure.

All that I find very interesting.  Unfortunately, the house is no more and the history, stories and significance will soon be lost forever as being absent will no longer generate questions, curiosity and research to find out more about it and its past.

Below, I've put together a little group of images I made over the years documenting the property.  You can witness the slow deterioration of the old place.  I have posted some of these in the past and those of you who are long time readers may recognize the old home.  The images I posted show more of the overall property than some of the ones I posted as I wanted to illustrate not only the house but the surrounding trees.  I've included the year I made each one. 

2009

2012

2014

2016

2020-1

2020-2

2024

Here arre a couple of my black & white favorites as well.

Progress?  I guess it depends upon which way you view this photogenic old home.  I can understand razing the structure, but I'm having a hard time with removing a dozen very old and stately oak and pine trees.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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