John Tyler, born nearby at Greenway, the tenth U.S. president, former congressman, senator, governor, and, at his death in 1862, member of the Confederate Congress, purchased this house and attached farm in 1842, three years before leaving the presidency. To a simple threebay frame house he made many additions, including a ballroom and an office, all one room deep, and built dependencies. Architectural historian Calder Loth believes that the result may, at 300 feet, be the longest domestic facade in the state. Remarkably unified in spite of its diversity, it is daunting. The interior details are based on Minard Lafever's publications. The wallpaper in the ballroom dates from 1844. The grounds immediately surrounding the house received a romantic treatment, and portions of that landscaping still survive.