The Past and the Present at Dunbar's Kitchen

I was surfing around on eBay recently, and I typed "Stafford Virginia" into the search bar ... just to see what may be out there for sale from around here.  One of the items in the search results was a print of this photo:

This location was described as "Old Dunbar's Quarters, Falmouth, Virginia"

As I looked at the photo, I knew that this little building was familiar ... and I wracked my brain to try to place it.  All of the sudden, I remembered.  It is a photo of Dunbar's Kitchen (not Quarters, as in the description) and the white manor house on the hill in the background is Carlton.

You can't see Carlton up on the hill anymore because it is hidden in the trees.

A bit of Googling led me to the Library of Congress site that has the digital files of the original photos, which were taken in the late 1920s by Frances Benjamin Johnston as part of the Carnegie Survey of the South.

(3/3/2016)

I have always been drawn to this little building, even in its now-unfortunate site and ratty state.

Tens of thousands of people in cars pass by this little building every day ... I wonder how many of them notice it.  The state has just completed a major reworking of the adjacent intersection, demolishing buildings on three of the four corners to add turn lanes and to better handle the massive amount of traffic.  

The current Google Maps image shows the road construction, which is finished now.  This situation is actually an improvement from earlier, when Dunbar's Kitchen was an afterthought, and probably an annoyance, behind a car dealership (which was demolished to make way for the road improvements).  The disturbed areas and construction materials you see on the aerial photo are gone, replaced by grass and landscaping.

Dunbar's Kitchen is at the bottom of the map, the Carlton is on the upper left, as indicated by my arrows.

In my Googling, I also found this drawing of the front elevation:

Source

A lot has changed for Dunbar's Kitchen since Frances Benjamin Johnston took her lovely B&W images in the late 1920s.  I did see one seemingly insignificant thing that remains in front of the building.

I wonder if the front garden had two gates, one in the front and one on the side, or if this side gate was moved to the front?

As far as I know, Dunbar's Kitchen is unoccupied, and has been for as long as I can remember, but someone keeps it up fairly well.  The grass is always mowed and the structures on the property are kept in relatively good repair.  

To read a little bit about Robert Dunbar, click HERE.