Historic Structure Report: Historical Data Section, The "Sweeney Prizery," Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Unrau HD. 1981. Historic Structure Report: Historical Data Section, The "Sweeney Prizery," Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. Historic Structure Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Denver, Colorado
A study of the "Sweeney Prizery" is difficult due to a virtual absence of any documentation relating to the original construction and the early ownership and utilization of the structure. The lack of documentation is the result of two local county courthouse fires in which nearly all records were destroyed. The purpose of this report was to present both the little available documentary material and the unsubstantiated folklore associated with the Prizery. This study presents a comprehensive review of the documentary history of the building and a brief evaluation of the merits of the various stories that have arisen around the structure. This research provided basic historical data for the stabilization/preservation treatment of the structure and for the future interpretation of the site. The "Sweeny Prizery" is a tobacco barn built in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth century in which tobacco was packed (or, prized) into hogsheads. It was converted to use as a farm tenant house in the nineteenth century. It is significant primarily due to its its association with the Civil War events at Appomattox Court House Village in early April of 1865. The report notes the proposed stabilization/restoration to the exterior and interior of the structure, as part of the historic scene and for adaptive use as an environmental study area.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Unrau, Harlan
- Date of Issue
- 1981-11
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- APCO , HIST , NER
- Keywords
- agriculture, Appomattox Court House, Civil War, Clover Hill, ehistory, environmental study center, industry, Joel Walker Flood, restoration, tenant house, tobacco, tobacco barn, tobacco culture, village
- Subjects
- CRIS-HS: 000045: Sweeney Prizery