The terrain in the vicinity of the farm is mainly flat, with some very gentle rolling areas. It is well watered, being crossed by Turkey Cock Run. During 1946-50, three ponds were dug in back of the house. They are spring-fed, and their runoff drains into Turkey Cock Run. With the original forest cover cleared off at least 200 years ago, the present clusters of pine and oak, and the incidence of hemlock, cherry, crabapple, and other flowering species, represent a reforestation several generations removed from the original, and, in other instances, the landscaping done by the Straights in the late 1940's. HOUSE SITE. The mansion house faces south and is connected with the Little River Turnpike by a black-top (asphalt-surfaced) road which passes on the west side of the house and runs north to Braddock Road. Inside the post and rail fence, alongside this road, the driveway up to the house is lined with trees, and the yard in front of the house is open and flat. Between the lawn and the road, a line of cedars in the fence row serves as a screen. The back (north side) of the house faces a semicircular open grass lawn, bordered with hedges which provide both a screen for the lawn and a background for several stone carvings and cement castings which decorate a lawn approximately 1,500 square feet in size. At the northeast corner of this open space is located the log cabin; beyond the log cabin, approximately 110 feet in a northeasterly direction, is the barn, which is converted into living quarters.[85] Northwest of the main house, facing on Green Spring Road, is the spring house. Originally built over a series of natural springs in order to have water for cooling dairy products, this stone house was converted into a small dwelling house by the Straights in 1942. GENERAL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND HISTORY. In its present condition, the mansion house at Green Spring Farm cannot be considered to represent any particular period of American architecture. The original core of the building illustrates a design which was typical of the colonial era in Tidewater Virginia. This portion of the house is of brick construction, two stories plus attic and cellar, with the rooms in each end of the house separated by a center hallway. Large chimneys at each end of the house made possible heating by fireplaces in each room.