An Elegant and Historic Virginia Estate for Sale

Mount Sharon Farm is one of Virginia’s most magnificent historic estates, and thanks to Instagram, I learned that it is available for sale. The extraordinary circa 1937 Georgian Revival-style residence is located on the second highest point of Orange County, offering panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Coastal Plain. It is surrounded by world-renowned gardens created by the current owners alongside landscape architect Charles J. Stick.

Over six intensive years, they created 10 themed garden spaces spanning 10 acres. Each room is entered through an opening in a 15-foot-high tunnel of 100-year-old American boxwood. Statuary, pavilions, fountains and pergolas furnish each space, inspired by signature gardens in the U.S. and Europe. On the highest ground, a Greek conversation nook houses a statue of Eros. Nearby is a wisteria-draped arbor modeled on one at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, and from a Moorish-inspired gazebo offers ridge views to the east (source). The Garden Club of Virginia calls it “one of the most beautiful private landscapes on the East Coast a private work of art of national significance.”  Comprised of over 560 gently rolling acres, Mount Sharon Farm offers fertile cropland, lush pastures, farm improvements, and an assortment of dependencies, all in excellent condition.

The Mount Sharon house is a restrained Georgian Revival-style country house, and it is the only Virginia commission completed by noted New York architect Louis Bancel LaFarge. The home showcases LaFarge’s attention to fine craftsmanship and his familiarity with the modern building technology and systems of the late 1930s, including such features as reinforced concrete and steel construction for strength and fireproofing, a humidification system, and central low-pressure steam heating. It is listed on the Virginia and National Historic Registers.

You can read more about Mount Sharon Farm and the current owners’ extensive renovation via Virginia Living. Thanks to @thevanishingvirginian for posting this glorious home on Instagram!  Mt. Sharon is currently listed at $18,500,000.