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JUST ACROSS from City Hall, at the corner of Hanover and Princess Anne streets, lies an empty yard that borders Fredericksburg United Methodist Church and what was at one time the Roman Catholic church of Fredericksburg. This site was, until the middle of the last century, the location of an old house with an even older kitchen dependency.
The original portion of the Forbes House was erected circa 1786 and was the home of Charles Yates until his death in 1809. Charles Yates was born in 1727 at White Haven, England. He purchased the lot upon which he built his home from Zachariah Lewis, who was at that time an extensive landholder in Spotsylvania County.
Charles Yates appears prominently and often in meeting minutes recorded by the early Fredericksburg Council. There appears to have been ongoing confusion as to exactly where this property was located--in Fredericksburg or neighboring Spotsylvania County. The minutes of the July 8, 1783, council meeting state that Charles Yates appeared before the council asking for their input and opinion on this very subject. The document goes on to state that Yates paid his taxes "within the place called Allentown."
Yates was a highly regarded member of the local Masonic lodge. Upon his death, his home passed on to his nephew John Yates, along with the wedding ring of Charles' grandmother Yates, Charles' gold ring engraved with his coat of arms, and other properties. He left $2,000 to the Fredericksburg Charity School. The executor for his English properties was another nephew, Richard Mathews of Wigton. His will named 20 beneficiaries with no mention of either wife or children, so one may surmise that he was a gentleman bachelor.
The next owner of the house was Robert Stannard, who purchased the property April 8, 1815. He is believed to have been a member of a prominent Spotsylvania family of the same name. The property next passed to Robert Ellis, who lived in the home with his wife, Mary, and numerous sons and daughters. Many of the children went on to become prominent members of local society. Robert and Mary Ellis are buried in the Fredericksburg Masonic Cemetery.
One story connected with the house is that at one time--the exact time period is not known--Dr. George French, a Scottish immigrant, and his American bride, Ann Benger, a niece of Alexander Spotswood, lived there. French was a physician and one of Fredericksburg's first mayors.
Following the occupancy of Robert Stannard, the house became the home of John Herndon. His great-niece Ellen Lewis Herndon was the wife of President Chester A. Arthur. John Herndon was a renowned attorney and sat as judge of the Fredericksburg Court in 1870. His daughter would marry Seth Barton French.
The house passed to Frank Thornton Forbes in 1871. He was married to Anne Mercer Chew. Sallie Forbes was in residence in the 1930s when she was interviewed for the Works Progress Administration by N.M. Deaderick on March 11, 1937. She had lived in the house since 1871 and was very knowledgeable about her home and its history.
At the time of her interview, Sallie Forbes was joint owner of the property with her sister, Mrs. William Owens of Savannah, Ga. Sallie and her sister were the daughters of Frank Thornton Forbes and Anne Mercer Chew and were the great-granddaughters of Francis Thornton, Gen. Hugh Mercer and Dr. David Forbes.
Dr. Forbes was a Scottish immigrant who married Lady Margaret Starling, the only daughter of the last laird of Herbertshire. The couple married in Edinburgh in 1774 and came to Dumfries and later to Stafford County. Dr. Forbes would serve as a surgeon in the Revolutionary War.
The Forbes House is thought to have been used as a hospital during the War Between the States, and as a result the floors are said to have been stained with blood in many places in many rooms. As with numerous other older homes in the Fredericksburg area, Civil War veterans would stop by the Forbes Houses in their later years. They came to revisit sites that remained in their memories and to share those memories with the residents of these sites.
One such story was shared by Miss Sallie Forbes during her interview in the 1930s. This tale concerned a Federal Maj. Morris who appeared at her home accompanied by two of his "brothers in arms" who had also experienced a portion of the war at Forbes House during 1862-63. They were most interested in touring the house one last time. They alluded to an important paper that was evidently signed in her sitting room. They declined to reveal any further information on this document, its significance or its signers.
The accompanying photo to the WPA report on the Forbes House portrays the Hanover Street elevation of the house. It shows how the side entrance to the main house was redesigned with concrete stairs to compensate for the regrading of Hanover Street. It also shows a portion of the brick dependency that fronted Hanover Street. It was commonly believed that this wonderful old brick structure was the original dwelling house for this site. It was very solidly constructed and suffered very little alteration throughout its long years of existence.
This small structure featured two large exterior chimneys and a wood-shingled gable roof. There were three downstairs room and two upstairs rooms. The staircase was of simple design. There were originally two exterior doors, one opening into the garden area of the site and one that was later bricked up, having originally opened onto Hanover Street. Both doors and the windows featured curved inset brick cornices and door sills of stone.
The larger and later main house was constructed of beaded weatherboard. The numerous windows were shuttered. The house was 2 stories in height. There were one interior and two exterior chimneys. The front porch was one story in height and featured an old railing. The front of the site was altered when Princess Anne Street was regraded, necessitating the addition of several steps up to the then-front of the house. The back porch is thought to have been the original main entrance to the house and featured a brick floor and six Doric columns.
The staircase in the main house was repositioned at some time but remained very beautiful, with a hand-carved newel post, railings and newels of walnut. Interior walls were papered. The cellar was used as a kitchen and dining room. An old carved mantel was removed from this area prior to 1930. Mantels throughout the remainder of the house were ornately carved, with one reaching to the ceiling. The entrance hall boasted very old and very beautiful wallpaper.
The house in general was in remarkable condition in the 1930s, with its additions and renovations done in an appropriate and unobtrusive manner.
In the 1930s WPA report, mention is made of Sallie Forbes' extensive collection of miniature portraits of prominent Virginians. This collection included John Chew (clerk of the Fredericksburg Court 1787-1806 and great-grandfather of Sallie Forbes), Judge John Herndon, Sallie Innes (wife of Francis Thornton of Fall Hill), Lady Spotswood (wife of Alexander Spotswood), Dr. David Forbes, Murray Forbes, Robert Dunbar, James Fitzgerald (great-uncle of Sallie Forbes), and countless others--all indicative of Miss Forbes' impressive lineage.
The grounds of the house covered almost half a city block. There were terraces and brick walls that screened it from busy city streets, creating a courtyard of sorts. The neighboring Roman Catholic and Methodist churches helped to screen these gardens, creating an elegant, private and tranquil setting in the heart of Fredericksburg.
Sallie Forbes continued to live at her beloved home for the remainder of her life. Local resident Tomi Reneau recalls visiting "Cousin Sallie" there as a young girl. She remembers how Forbes would throw something into the fire in her elaborate fireplace at Christmastime to change the color of the flames.
The house was sold out of the Forbes family in the mid-1900s. The new owner dismantled the house--oral history indicates that he planned to erect a service station at the site, as Princess Anne Street was still a very busy thoroughfare at that time. In a more recent auction (circa 1989) architectural elements from the Forbes House were featured. The service station was never built and the site today is an expansive lawn adjacent to the Methodist Church.
