DATE: Sunday, June 15, 1997                 TAG: 9706130243
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON   PAGE: 02   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: COASTAL JOURNAL 

SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow 

                                            LENGTH:   79 lines

OLD-FASHIONED HOUSE IS TUCKED AWAY IN MODERN NEIGHBORHOOD

You might not ever stumble across Kenstock, an 1880s farmhouse, tucked away in a neighborhood of modern two-story and ranch houses off Old Great Neck Road.

Kenstock's long driveway is more or less unidentifiable, even with columns at the head, because it is wedged between the driveway of one home and the property line of another home next door. Ancient huge trees tower over the house itself, concealing it from nearby streets.

Yet if you look closely, you'll see a sturdy old-fashioned shingled farm house, a remnant of old Princess Anne County's agricultural past. Kenstock was the mistress of a farm that once thrived along the shores of Wolfsnare Creek and now is the hidden centerpiece of its namesake, a neighborhood known as Kenstock.

In fact the original brass name plates that once hung on the columns of Kenstock, the home, now hang from the pillars at the entrance to the neighborhood.

The 100-year-old cedar shake house is surrounded by an old-fashioned 10-foot-wide porch on three sides. The steep hipped roof features dormer windows as well as a half-moon window that lets light into the upstairs hallway.

Kenstock with its hipped roof is not the typical 19th-century farmhouse found in this area. The home carries some ornamental touches, like the half-moon window, that are not found on other farmhouses of that era in old Princess Anne County either.

Kenstock also features a decorative iron crenulation on the roof. The notched embellishment is on the peak of the roof at the center. The roof is shingled with handsome six-sided slate. Each window is topped by a gracefully curved ``lid'' built into the exterior wall.

Both the crenulation and the lidded windows were new architectural features of the 1880s, according to Peter Mooz of First Landing Company Inc., who is the real estate agent for the sale of the home now on the market.

The home has had two other owners since it was built by a Dr. Kennedy from Georgia, but almost every feature of the house is as Kennedy built it. Even the little building that used to house two outhouses is still on the property. Those doors also are topped by the curved lids.

A sturdy wooden stairwell with handsome carved newell posts is the only decorative touch inside, yet 11-foot ceilings and a huge center hall lend a sense of elegance to the home. With five bedrooms, one full bath and two half baths, four parlors and a large dining room, Kenstock was built for a big family.

The parlors have fireplaces in the corners instead of along the wall. That way, one chimney can serve two fireplaces and is enclosed inside the structure of the house, rather than interfering with the clean lines of the outside walls.

Kenstock also has a full basement, which present owner Bill Ottinger thinks is not original, but was built when a heating system was added to the home.

Dr. Kennedy may have been lured up from Georgia to old Princess Anne County by the many advertisements for Princess Anne County land following the Civil War. One particularly hard sell was a booklet, prepared in 1872 by two local real estate entrepreneurs, titled ``America: Homes for Englishmen in the State of Virginia.''

After the war, the county's agrarian economy was in terrible shape. Many local families had lost their farms either because of unpaid taxes or huge war-related debt. The booklet described 12 pieces of property for sale ranging in size from 92 to 1,000 acres. Most of the property was near the courthouse or in the vicinity of London Bridge where Kenstock is.

P.S. This is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Reader Julie Slobodnjak, who once had a dog that bit, called to recommend a book, ``Understanding the Dog You Love'' by Mordecai Siegal.

MOONLIGHT CANOE TRIPS will take place from 7:45 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at False Cape State Park. Call 426-7128.

KIDS FISHING DAY for children, 12 and under, is from 1 to 4 p.m. June 21, at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Call 721-2412. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW

Kenstock, a sturdy old-fashioned 1880s farmhouse, is a remnant of

Princess Anne County's agricultural past.

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