Robert R. Moton House | |
Location | 6496 Allmondsville Rd., Capahosic, Virginia |
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Coordinates | 37°23′16.11″N 76°38′37.89″W / 37.3878083°N 76.6438583°W |
Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) [1] |
Built | 1935 |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 81000640 |
VLR No. | 036-0134 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 21, 1981 [3] |
Designated NHL | December 21, 1981 [4] |
Designated VLR | March 16, 1982 [2] |
Holly Knoll, also known as the Robert R. Moton House, is a historic house in rural Gloucester County, Virginia, near Capahosic. It was the retirement home of the influential African-American educator Robert Russa Moton (1867-1940), and is the only known home of his to survive. It now houses the Gloucester Institute, a non-profit training center for African-American community leaders and educators. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1981. [1] [4]
Holly Knoll is located on the northeast bank of the York River, between the communities of Capahosic and Allmondsville. The main house is a 2+1⁄2-story brick building with a side gable roof, which is flanked by single-bay single-story wings. A two-story porch and portico extends across much of the facade, supported by smooth Tuscan columns. The interior is organized in a typical Colonial Revival central hall plan, and includes several pieces of furniture that originally belonged to Moton. The property also includes a reproduction of the log home in which Moton grew up. [1]
The house was built in 1935 for Robert Russa Moton, and was his home until his death in 1940. Moton was one of the most influential African-American educators of his generation, succeeding Booker T. Washington in the leadership of Hampton University and the Tuskegee Institute, and helping found the National Urban League. [1] The property was then transformed into a conference center, now The Gloucester Institute, dedicated to continuing Moton's educational legacy. It was at the center of strategy discussions amongst African-American intellectuals and activists during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.