House near Dix's Bridge

Submitted by June Banks Evans 9 Aug 2003

House near Dix's Bridge, 560 Dix Drive, Lunenburg County, intersection #621/602, demolished 1975 at site of present house; chimney had stone marked M 1819 [Gilmer map, section 20, unnamed dot below word mill in extreme lower right corner near county line] Coordinates: 36° 47' 00"N, 78° 02' 05"W - FORKSVILLE quad

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This house was on 114 acres patented by the brothers Jeremiah and James Mize prior to the formation of Lunenburg County in 1746. [PB 14:81] By 1734 they had divided the tract, and the dividing line -- Mize's Road from Brunswick County leading to Mize's Ford on the Meherrin River -- eventually became what is now Dix Drive, route #621. Jeremiah's portion, the lower half of the patent, was sold to David Moss in 1775; then, in 1781, to William Denton, whose will of July 5, 1800, referred to this tract as well as to the mill built by James Mize on his Stony Creek portion of the original 114-acre patent..

In 1817, the original Jeremiah Mize land passed from the estate of William Denton's widow Lucy to their daughter Sylvia's husband, Robert Thompson of Mecklenburg County. In 1818, the tax collector's records noted Thompson's residence as Lunenburg. It has been suggested that the house pictured above was built around that time, for a large stone in the chimney was incised M 1819. The original Mize home is thought to have been on an adjoining hill, closer to bend of the river; when land was cleared for reforestation in 1969, a cemetery and house ruins were discovered next to the path of an old road. Of several graves obviously there, only one was identified by a marker: William and Lucy Denton's granddaughter Salley M. [Thompson] Davis, wife of Willis S. Davis.

Among others, Edward Dix, associated with the building of Dix's Bridge across the Meherrin River at this point, later lived here with his family.

In 1975, the house was razed and a new home was built on the site, beneath the generous shade of the same ancient oak. Rocks from the chimneys and foundation were used in construction of the new chimney and patio, the stone incised M 1819 was placed in the center of the raised hearth, and a sill from the old house was planed and installed over the fireplace as a mantel.

The winds still sweep up the hill from the river, and in season, deer appear at dusk over the eastern rise, turkeys strut across the field, and red fox feast on wild cherries near the house.

The land has had many owners.

[Reference: Long Ago in Lunenburg on Stony Creek of the Meherrin, June Banks Evans: Bryn Ffyliaid Publications, pp. 89-113.]