The Historic Barnes House was the home of Eppa Lee and Amanda Barnes, and was built in 1797. Eppa, who was born in 1852, and died in 1930, was a former slave who became a land owner and farmer in Prince William County. Eppa married Amanda "Mandy" Lambert in July 1875 and together they raised at least 11 children. Mandy was a midwife, and later became a teacher.
In 1852, the year Eppa was born the home was owned by Moses Copen. Mr. Copen, a slave owner, owned Eppa, his siblings, and his mother. By the end of the Civil War Eppa was free and Moses Copen had passed away. Eppa's mother Jane was "given" her house as well as seven acres of land from Permilia Copen - Moses' daughter. The house is a Tidewater-style home, and was renowned as a showplace for its flowers and beautiful decorations. Permelia died in 1899, and Eppa and Amanda bought the ~160 acres of land with this home upon it.
The home was moved from its original location in Independent Hill when Route 234 was widened in 2003. It has been restored by the PWC Historic Preservation Division to be used to interpret the diverse history of PWC. The restoration was estimated to cost $196,250 - without the costs for transporting the house and building a new foundation. There's quite a report available on the structure available with some googling. You can find that the siding cost $16,000 to restore, the roof $8,000, and the balustrades $4,000. The home will serve as a reading room and special location for community events. There will be opportunities to interpret our local history with this house serving as the backdrop. It was restored and modernized to help preserve this important place in our community's history.
To find this cache, review this page, fill in some blanks, get one piece of info from looking at the house, and then start your search. The cache isn't on library or house grounds - there is no need to disturb the structure (but feel free to look in) The cache is at N 38 AB.CDE, W 077 FG.HIJ
A is the decade (tens place) that Mr. Lee died
B is the number of vertical poles on either side of the ramp to access the house
C is the number of the decade that Mr. Lee was born
D is the number of letters in Mr. Lee's first name
E is the last digit in the year Route 234 was widened, necessitating the move of the structure
F is the last digit in the year that Mr. Lee was born
G is the first digit in the year that the house was built
H is the number of thousands of dollars it cost to replace the balustrades on the second floor of the home during restoration efforts
I is number of letters in Mr. Lee's mother's first name
J is the decade that the Mr. Lee and Ms. Lambert were married.
