Date:  ca. 1969

Image Number:   B252cdB25

Comments:   The Jefferies-Bruce house, located at 540 Harrison Street, is an excellent example of 19th century symmetry in design and craftsmanship with its Tuscan portico, four matching chimneys, and double-pile central passage floor plan over a high basement.  This house was built ca. 1838 on land, which was at one time part of Belle Grove Plantation and is now part of the Harrison Addition in Scottsville.

After the Civil War, Virginius Bronaugh Jefferies and his wife, Anna (Lewis) Jefferies raised their two children, Margaret and Elizabeth, in this home.  Virginius served in the Confederate Army as a Sergeant in the 3rd Regiment, Virginia Cavalry, and after the war, he returned to Scottsville where he worked as the town druggist.  Virginius and his brother, Dr. James M. Jefferies, who served as the Chief Surgeon at the Scottsville Confederate Hospital during the Civil War, were much beloved in Scottsville.

After their father passed away, Margaret and Elizabeth Jefferies continued to live in the Jefferies home.  On December 15, 1919, Thomas Ellison Bruce purchased this home and three lots from Elizabeth Jefferies (Albemarle Co. Deed Book 172, pp. 72-73).  Ellison also was a druggist, and it seemed fitting that this home would be eventually named after both druggists who lived here.  The Bruces raised three children in this home: Rebecca Jane, Thomas E., and Anne Shirley Bruce.  Ellison was a popular and successful businessman and also served as Mayor of Scottsville for four terms between 1935 - 1943.

Shown below is the Jefferies-Bruce home in 2010:

The drawing of the Jefferies-Bruce House at above right was drawn by Shayn Bjornholm, 1990.  It is provided courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photograph Division, Washington, D.C. 20540; Call Number: HABS, VA, 2-SCOTS,8.