Kentland, located near Whitethorne and now owned by Virginia Tech, was built in 1833 for James R. Kent. The property included a federal-style brick house (shown here in 1982) and many outbuildings. The nearly 6,000 acres at Kentland were worked by 90 enslaved African Americans in 1840. A noted cattleman from the 1820s through the Civil War, Kent’s wealth expanded and in 1860, he owned 122 slaves. After the Civil War, those once enslaved at Kentland founded the community of Wake Forest, located nearby. (This image and many more are available from the Montgomery Museum of Art & History.)
