Woodlands preserves a Brodnax family link to a published house plan

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Virginia's register record connects the Brunswick County house's later design to Samuel Sloan's 1860 Model Architect.

1 minute read · Gretna Junction Research Desk

AI-assisted · Last verified Official Virginia Department of Historic Resources register page checked November 2, 2026.

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A stack of architectural plans is clipped together on a table. — Publisher-original source relationship diagram; it does not reproduce Sloan's plan or depict Woodlands' current condition or access. Pexels · photographer at source · Pexels License
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From Federal house to later design

Virginia DHR says Woodlands began as an 1831–33 Federal I-house associated with the Brodnax family and was later remodeled as a porticoed Romantic Revival mansion. Alexander J.

Brodnax adapted the floor plan from Samuel Sloan's 1860 edition of The Model Architect, which retains penciled notes tied to the project.

The register account also compares the portico tradition with Berry Hill and notes features associated with builder Jacob Holt. Woodlands is identified here as a Brunswick County property connected to the Brodnax family; the surname does not establish that the house stands inside the Town of Brodnax.

Sources & verification

Virginia Department of Historic Resources — Woodlands

Official register page checked November 2, 2026 for the house chronology, Brodnax family association, Sloan plan and comparative design context.

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