The Washington family acquired extensive holdings in Jefferson County, Virginia during the 1770s. Samuel Washington's Harewood estate comprised 3,800 acres (1,500 ha), which were subsequently subdivided by his heirs into at least six smaller estates: Barleywood, Cedar Lawn, Locust Hill, Megwillie, Richwood Hall and Sulgrave. The farms initially produced tobacco with slave labor, but later shifted to grain production. George Steptoe Washington inherited Harewood from his father in 1781, but died in 1809 at the age of 37. His son, William Temple Washington received the portion containing Barleywood by subdivision as the Harewood property was shared among the heirs. Further subdivisions ensued, and William finally sold the future Harewood property to his daughter Millicent and her husband, Robert G. McPherson. The house was built about 1842. The household in 1850 consisted of Robert and Millicent, their four children, two servant girls, and ten slaves.[2]
The McPhersons sold Barleywood to Humphrey Keyes in 1853 for $12,203. At the same time Keyes bought William T. Washington's adjoining Megwillie estate, whose house had burned. During the American Civil War, Barleywood and surrounding estates were the scene of skirmishes, particularly in August 1864. After the death of Keyes in 1875 and his wife Jane in 1879, the farm passed to their daughters, who never lived there, renting them to tenants. The tenant house was built about 1900 to house farm workers, and the granary was built at about the same time. Unlike many nearby farms, the Barleywood estate was not converted to orchard use. Susan Keyes Ambler died in 1925, and the farm passed to her children. Parcels of the farm were sold off by her heirs in 1952 and 1956. The house was not occupied after the 1960s. By 2006 much of the land was developed for residential use, and in 2019 the manor was lovingly restored.[2]
