Preservation Piedmont has reached out to the developers behind the new Pleasant Grove development in Crozet, offering assistance and support in preservation efforts of the historic house for which they are planning to name the new neighborhood. The 1815 Ficklin-Wayland house is situated in the middle of what will be a mix of 238 condominiums, townhouses, and homes to be built within walking distance of downtown Crozet. The current plan is to either move or demolish the home, but we hope to convince the developers of the value of the home and its ability to be adaptively reused as a historic structure.
Pleasant Green was built for Rev. Benjamin Ficklin’s family in 1815. In 1832, Jeremiah Wayland purchased the home for his family and began to open it to boarders and travelers. When Claudius Crozet was in town surveying for a proposed railroad in 1839, he stayed at Pleasant Green. In 1849, Crozet stayed at the “Hotel Wayland” again as he led the construction of the Blue Ridge Railroad. Jeremiah’s son, Abraham Wayland, would eventually sell off parts of the Pleasant Green estate to become the business district in downtown Crozet.
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