The octagonal east wing of the clubhouse, constructed in 1802 near the University of Virginia as an addition to a pre-1780 structure, was designed by Thomas Jefferson.
What is now the clubhouse was originally a spacious plantation house with an elongated wing that contained several guest rooms for the Divers' extended family.
In 1976, the Jefferson Room was restored under the direction of Dr. Frederick D. Nichols, professor of Jeffersonian architecture at the University of Virginia.
[5] The incident became the catalyst for social change at the university including the establishment of an Office of Minority Affairs.
[7] Charlottesville and Albemarle County elected officials, clergy, racial justice activists, historians, educators, community leaders and descendants of local enslaved persons gathered on the club's property in July 2018 to hold a memorial service for John Henry James, an African American man from Charlottesville who was lynched there in 1898 at what was then Wood's Crossing.