Col. James Chesnut Sr., the builder of Blooomsbury, was born on February 19, 1773. He acquired land from his father which included the estates of Belmont, Town Creek and Mulberry. Even today, Mulberry is 7.5 square miles in size. He built Mulberry in 1820 and resided there most of the year moving to his Sandy Hill estate in the summer. In The Diary of Miss Emma Holmes, Miss Holmes comments that James and Mary Cox Chesnut had moved into Bloomsbury in the Spring of 1862. This was so they could be closer to the "telegraph and news." I would also speculate that it was also to be closer to Sally their daughter who could look after them. In 1864, Mary Cox Chesnut passed away at Bloomsbury. At the age of 93 in 1866, Col Chesnut also died at Bloomsbury. The conclusion of the civil war and Col. Chesnut's death marked an end to the era of the great plantation owners.