Salubria is located at 19173 Salubria Lane, Stevensburg, VA. It is operated by Historic Germanna, which opens the building to the public four times a year (see events page for dates). The information below was taken from the brochure that was available at the event- Salubria is a preserved Georgian-style manor house that dates to around 1757. It was built by enslaved artisans under the direction and financing of Reverend John Thompson, rector of the Little Fork Church. He married Butler Brayne Spotswood, widow of Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood, and their combined wealth is evident in the house’s grandeur. It received the name Salubria, Latin for healthful, around 1830. Salubria witnessed the growth of colonial Virginia. Soldiers, politicians, and merchants continuously traveled the historic east-west thoroughfare to its north. During the Civil War, blue and gray horsemen clashed on its grounds during the battle of Brandy Station. United States soldiers camped on the property during the winter of 1863-4. But even as history passed by its doorstep, Salubria was a home. It was home for four different wealthy families- the Thompsons, Barbours, Hansbroughs, and Graysons- who owned and lived inside the manor house. But they are not the only ones who lived here. Generations of enslaved individuals worked the land and made possible a life of comfort and luxury.

Pictures below were taken at the open house.

We covered the story behind the historic photograph below in a previous post (link).

In the back of the home is a small cemetery. The monument below is for Dr. J. Cooke Grayson Sr., a surgeon who worked at the Farmville, VA General Hospital during the Civil War. The Farmville hospital was covered in a previous post (link). It was interesting to me that someone who lived at Salubria would work at a Confederate Hospital 100 miles from his home. However, in Patricia J. Hurst’s book- The War Between the States 1861-1865, she states that on April 23, 1862, the Orange Courthouse General Hospital was closed and moved to Farmville along with its Chief Surgeon Dr. Horace Dade Taliaferro. Perhaps Dr. Grayson followed Dr. Taliaferro from the Orange Courthouse Hospital (23 miles from Salubria) to the Farmville Hospital.

Sources

Soldiers, Stories, Sites, and Fights Orange County, Virginia 1861-1865 and the Aftermath by Patricia J. Hurst