Mar 16, 1972
National Register of Historic Places - Bolling W. Haxall House (Woman's Club)
Statement of Significant: A writer for the Richmond Dispatch of 1858 described the new house of Mr. Bolling Haxall at 211 E. Franklin Street as an example of the Italian Villa style adapted to the city and a house "remarkable for its comfort, convenience, and elegance." The contractors were John and George Gibson. The model for the house was believed to have come from a counterpart in Brooklyn, New York. Bolling W. Haxall was the fifth son of a prosperous mill owner, Philip Haxall. The former Haxall began his career as a clerk in the Haxall Mills and became a partner in 1842. He had a wide range of business talents for he was also the president of the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works and had an interest in the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. His obituary in the Dispatch of June, 1885, referred to him as "a most energetic successful man of business, whose advice was often sought and highly valued." His house is a testimony to his material success and to the taste of the time. Haxall sold his house to Dr. Francis T. Willis in 1869 and moved to the block west, across from Linden Row. Dr. Willis made several changes in the house. He added a beautiful walnut stairway and frescoed walls with hardwood wainscoting on the main floor. His eye for beauty led to tragedy, however, for his daughter, Emily, a sleepwalker, was killed in a fall down the curving staircase. In despair, Dr. Willis sold the house in 1900 to the Woman's Club, which had been formed by Mrs. L. L. Lewis in 1894 for the "literary culture of its members; for their intellectual, social, and moral development, and to strengthen their individual efforts for humanity." To pay off their mortgage, the ladies of the club rented the second and third floors of the house and the outbuildings as apartments In 1916, the burgeoning enrollment of the club required the addition of an auditorium to the back of the house. This partially destroyed the rear porches on two floors. The auditorium was enlarged in 1924. 1928 saw some major changes on the interior of the Bolling Haxall house. A partition was removed from between the double parlor on the second floor in order to make a large assembly room. The third floor was converted into studios with a separate entry and stairway, and a balcony was added to the auditorium.
National Register of Historic Places - Bolling W. Haxall House (Woman's Club)
Statement of Significant: A writer for the Richmond Dispatch of 1858 described the new house of Mr. Bolling Haxall at 211 E. Franklin Street as an example of the Italian Villa style adapted to the city and a house "remarkable for its comfort, convenience, and elegance." The contractors were John and George Gibson. The model for the house was believed to have come from a counterpart in Brooklyn, New York. Bolling W. Haxall was the fifth son of a prosperous mill owner, Philip Haxall. The former Haxall began his career as a clerk in the Haxall Mills and became a partner in 1842. He had a wide range of business talents for he was also the president of the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works and had an interest in the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad. His obituary in the Dispatch of June, 1885, referred to him as "a most energetic successful man of business, whose advice was often sought and highly valued." His house is a testimony to his material success and to the taste of the time. Haxall sold his house to Dr. Francis T. Willis in 1869 and moved to the block west, across from Linden Row. Dr. Willis made several changes in the house. He added a beautiful walnut stairway and frescoed walls with hardwood wainscoting on the main floor. His eye for beauty led to tragedy, however, for his daughter, Emily, a sleepwalker, was killed in a fall down the curving staircase. In despair, Dr. Willis sold the house in 1900 to the Woman's Club, which had been formed by Mrs. L. L. Lewis in 1894 for the "literary culture of its members; for their intellectual, social, and moral development, and to strengthen their individual efforts for humanity." To pay off their mortgage, the ladies of the club rented the second and third floors of the house and the outbuildings as apartments In 1916, the burgeoning enrollment of the club required the addition of an auditorium to the back of the house. This partially destroyed the rear porches on two floors. The auditorium was enlarged in 1924. 1928 saw some major changes on the interior of the Bolling Haxall house. A partition was removed from between the double parlor on the second floor in order to make a large assembly room. The third floor was converted into studios with a separate entry and stairway, and a balcony was added to the auditorium.
Mar 16, 1972
Posted Date
Jul 12, 2023
Historical Record Date
Mar 16, 1972
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
