The History Of Charlottesville

Thomas Jefferson

THE FOUNDING OF CHARLOTTESVILLE

In 1761 the County was partitioned, land on the south being relinquished for the formation of Buckingham and Amherst counties. This left Scottsville on the extreme southern border of Albemarle, and it was decided that the location of the courthouse was no longer suited to the needs of a majority of the population. A thousand acres were secured in the center of the County, and in November, 1762, an Act of Assembly was passed, creating the town of Charlottesville, and authorizing the removal of the County seat to this place. Its name was bestowed in honor of the little Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg Strelitz, the young bride of George III.

The new courthouse, pillory, stocks and whipping post were duly erected on the present Court Square, and fifty acres of adjoining land were laid off in lots and streets. The prospective town consisted of four tiers of squares, each tier running east and west and containing seven squares; the four tiers extending from Jefferson St. to South St. The Courthouse Square was exterior to the town. Building, however, for some years was slow and scattered, and during this time the infant village was of small importance in the history of the County. The country planter continued to control the social and business life of the community, and its business interests were still centered in the thriving villages of Milton and Scottsville.

Albemarle County Courthouse 1851

As late as 1779, Capt. Anburey, a British prisoner, writes: "On our arrival at Charlottesville, this famous place we had heard so much of consisted only of a Court-house, one tavern,1 and about a dozen houses."

After the Revolution, the number of taverns increased rapidly, the town's location on the main State road to the West making it a halting place for stage lines, and for much private travel.

The present Courthouse building was not erected until 1803, in which year George Divers, William D. Menwether and Isaac Miller were appointed to draw a plan for the edifice. The cost was not to exceed five thousand dollars. In 1859 a contract was entered into with George W. Spooner to construct a front addition designed by Wm. A. Pratt, a former Proctor of the University. This addition was flanked with towers and crowned with gables, but some years later, upon the prevalence of a more restrained standard, it was removed, and the present pediment, with its supporting pillars, was erected by Mr. Spooner. We do not know when the instruments of correction, which were formerly necessary associates of a courthouse, were removed. In 1820 they were repaired, and as late as 1857 James Lobban and Andrew Brown were appointed to select a place for the whipping-post.

Albemarle County Courthouse today

As the old building now stands, the wing to the north is that in which Jefferson worshipped, and about which center the associations of more than a century. We are told that in early days it was no unusual sight to observe here a President and two Ex-Presidents, with perhaps a U. S. Senator or a Governor in attendance. An old anecdote relates that upon one such occasion, as the three Presidents stood on the green, one of them remarked that if there only were a fourth they would all cross over to the tavern and take a drink. With characteristic good humor, the late Mr. Jesse Maury, then a youth of seventeen, stepped forward and offered to fill the gap, he being the president of the Albemarle Possum Club.

Notes 1. The Swan, upon the site now occupied by the Red Land Club. Authorities: Woods' History of Albemarle.

Original Town Hall/ Levy Opera House

CHARLOTTESVILLE DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

In war, Albemarle, by her location, has been spared the disastrous distinction of great battles within her borders. Her share, however, in its sacrifice and loss has always been ardently assumed. At the approach of the Revolution her populace was deeply aroused. Her public men took active part in the momentous events, which preceded the great rupture, and her hardy farmers were prompt to form companies of volunteers. One of these, a band of eighteen men, upon news of the removal of the powder by Lord Dunsmore in the spring of 1775, marched hastily to Williamsburg. How long they remained under arms is not known, but two months later, against the advice of the Speaker of the House, twenty-seven men under Lieut. George Gilmer proceeded again to the Capital. Dr. Woods tells us that soldiers from Albemarle fought in all the important battlefields of the war, and he also gives from the county records a valuable list of officers and privates. It is true, however, that throughout the Colonies there was widespread disaffection during the Revolution-more than we now realize. In the lower counties of the State, wherever the British colors appeared men flocked, often by hundreds, to swear allegiance. Then, when the British passed on or retreated, these men or their families were exposed to the patriotic resentment of their neighbors. Many would recant for the second time. If the British then returned to that locality, their fate was a hard one.

In some captured orders to Col. Balfour, Cornwallis says: "I have ordered, in the most positive manner, that every militia man who has borne arms with us and afterwards joined the enemy, shall be immediately hanged." 1

Albemarle, of course, had her share of these Tories. Though their names have not been generally preserved, we know that Thomas Meriwether of Clover Fields, who was married to Washington's cousin, was British in his sympathies, and so was the celebrated Parson Douglas 2 of Louisa, whose descendants are still prominent in this County. Chiles Terrell, too, and Francis Jerdone were suspected of this feeling. It is interesting to reflect that had the Revolution terminated in defeat for the Colonies, these and other forgotten men would now be our Colonial heroes.

In January, 1779, British and Hessian troops were sent by Congress as prisoners of war to an encampment near Charlottesville. Their route in Virginia lay through Little London, Fauquier Court House, Carter's Plantation, Orange and Walker's Plantation. Upon arrival the men were settled on the north bank of Ivy Creek, upon the plantation of Col. Harvie, the farm which they occupied having ever since been known as The Barracks. The superior officers sought quarters among the neighboring gentry for a distance of twenty miles around.

The great fire at the Rotunda 1898

From Jefferson's correspondence we learn that in a short time the presence of these four thousand aliens caused excitement that amounted to panic among the populace. It was believed that the community could not furnish the needed quantity of food, and rumors of famine drove the inhabitants to petition Gov. Henry to remove the troops. This Jefferson warmly opposed, and he was successful in his representations of the desirability of the location. Lossing tells us that the paroled officers were kindly received and entertained in the neighborhood, and that at This Barracks they constructed a theatre, a coffee house and a cold bath.

In the distribution of these officers, Gen. Philips, the English officer-in-charge, was quartered at Blenheim, the plantation of Col. Carter in the Green Mountain neighborhood; and the Hessian General, Baron de Riedesel, doubtless on account of the presence of his family, was allowed to lease a plantation and settle himself in comfort. This plantation was Colle3, adjoining Monticello, where for some years an Italian gentleman named Mazzei had been experimenting with vine growing and wine making. He was just starting on a political mission to Europe, and his establishment was at once taken over by the Baron, who is said to have grazed his horses in the vineyards and demolished them within a week.

University of Virginia

The following interesting glimpse of their life in Albemarle is taken from the letters of Madame de Riedesel, who for three years, with her three small daughters, had braved the severities of life in the field; having followed the army from Canada to its defeat at Saratoga, and then on the long march which brought them to Virginia. Of their arrival she says:

"It snowed so much that we were obliged to have four men on horseback, before our carriage, to clear Their the road. The traveling was dangerous, the roads arrival being almost impassable, and we suffered besides not only from cold but from want. When only a day's journey from the place of our destination, we had, for our last meal, tea, and a peace of bread and butter for each. This was tile end of our little stock, and we could here procure nothing except some fruits which a peasant gave us. At noon we reached a house, where we begged for some dinner, but all assistance was denied us. Our hostess said that she needed the maize for her black people. 'They work for us,' she added, 'and you come to kill us.'

Old Monticello Hotel "The place of our destination was Colle, in Virginia. We had traveled, in about three months, six hundred and twenty-eight miles. The troops were at Charlottesville, three hours ride from us, and the road thither ran through a fine wood. At first they suffered many privations; they were billeted in block houses, without windows or doors, and but poorly protected from the cold.4 But they went diligently to work to construct better dwellings, and in a short time tile place assumed the appearance of a neat little town. In the rear of each house they had trim gardens and enclosed places for poultry. They wanted nothing but money."5

Of her life at Colle she writes: "We had turkeys weighing fifty pounds, and perfectly tame, but on the approach of spring they flew off to hatch their eggs, which they had laid in the woods. We had given them up for lost, when suddenly they returned with a numerous brood.-We had a large house built for us, which cost us a hundred guineas and was quite elegant.-The negroes sold us their little stock of poultry and vegetables. Every week we sent an ox and two swine to the slaughterhouse. Thus with respect to provisions we had nothing to wish for, but we suffered much by the heat during the summer; we lived in continual apprehension of rattlesnakes, and our fruit trees were destroyed by three kinds of insects.

"Sometimes also we had tremendous thunderstorms. The woods were, besides, often wasted by the fires of negroes and herdsmen; indeed, nobody here seems to care much for trees- Whole forests are sometimes burnt down to redeem land for the purposes of agriculture.-The heat was so great, even during the night, that we were obliged to sleep with open windows."

According to tradition, at the time of her life in Albemarle Madame de Riedesel had much embonpoint, and a handsome face. She rendered herself an object of wonder to the long-skirted and beplumed equestriennes of the neighborhood by riding in boots and astride, in what then was delicately called "the European fashion." A sun-stroke which Baron de Riedesel suffered, in consequence of working in his garden without a hat while the thermometer was at 103 degrees, resulted in their being sent to a health resort in Maryland. From there they were ordered north, spending several years as prisoners in America and Canada. Two daughters, born during this period, were named America and Canada, in honor of their places of birth.

A diary kept by Capt. Anburey, of the British forces, gives in spirited fashion his opinion of the region. "Never was a district so destitute of every comfort, provisions were not to be purchased for ten days; the officers subsisted upon salt pork, and Indian corn made into cakes; not a drop of any kind of spirit: many officers, to com fort themselves put red pepper into water, to drink by way of cordial.

"The fences and enclosures in this province are different from those to the northward; here they are composed of what is termed fence rails. From a mode of constructing these enclosures in a zig-zag form, the New-Englanders have a saying, when a man is in liquor, he is making Virginia fences.

"The country is so much covered with woods, that you travel a long time without seeing an habitation. You can hardly conceive the difficulty in finding the proper roads; when one is bad, they make another in a different direction; added to which the planters, sans cerenzonie, turn a road to suit their own convenience, and render it more commodious to their plantation. If perchance you meet an inhabitant and enquire your way, his directions are if possible, more perplexing than the roads themselves. "Having given a pretty good sketch of these back settlers, I am going to Richmond to purchase some liquor and necessaries to render our situation a little comfortable in this dreary region of woods and wretchedness."

However, the private troops (and in especial the Hessians, who as mercenaries had no consoling prospect of peace,) liked the district so well that desertions were a constant anxiety to their officers. At one time nearly four hundred eluded the vigilance of the guards, and escaped. Many of these are said to have reached the wilderness of the Ragged Mountains, where by intermarriage they became an integral part of our mountain population.

In the fall of 1780, when the British occupied Portsmouth, great uneasiness was observed among the British prisoners, and it was feared that they might rise upon the guards and attempt to join their countrymen.

Jefferson wrote from Richmond: "Some deserters were taken yesterday, said to he of the British Convention Troops, who had found means to get to the enemy at Portsmouth, and were seventy or eighty miles on their way back to the Barracks, when they were taken." For these reasons, the camp was broken up in November of that year. The British officers had purchased "some of the finest horses within the State," which they took with them. The men were marched, by way of Woods' Gap and the Valley, to Winchester and Maryland. Death, desertion and exchange had reduced their numbers to about twenty-one hundred. Afterwards they were taken north for shipment, but the ranks gradually melted away, until there were none left to embark.

Meriwether Lewis

Among the paroled officers quartered in the neighborhood of the prisoners was a young Englishman who was billeted at Lewis's The Farm. He was in declining health, and had become a great favorite with the townspeople. It was his habit to take a daily walk on the hills above the Rivanna, and upon returning from one of these he remarked that he had seen a magnificent tree and a view of surpassing beauty. "I have stuck in the ground a stick there, and if I should die while here that is the place where I should like to be buried." A few weeks later he died, and was buried in his chosen spot. Around this grave the Lewis burial ground, now on the western edge of Riverview Cemetery, was made, and more than a century later the City selected the site as a cemetery, doubtless for the same reasons that had attracted the young stranger. Though the soldier's tree has now fallen, and no stone marks the spot, our older citizens can remember when a walk to the "British Soldier's grave" was popular with the young people of the village.

Some six months after the removal of the Convention troops, the people of Albemarle were again brought into contact with the enemy, though in a painfully different fashion. Owing to the invasion of Virginia by the British under Cornwallis, it was considered unsafe to continue the government at Richmond, and on May 24, 1781, the Legislature was adjourned to meet again in Charlottesville.

General Sir Banastre Tarleton by Joshua Reynolds

It was in pursuit of this distinguished prey that Cornwallis dispatched his "hunting leopard," Tarleton, with a troop of 180 cavalry, and 70 mounted infantry under Captain Champagne. This dreaded legion bore a name for treachery in the field, bloody inhumanity in action, and wild excesses in the hour of victory, it being Tarleton's policy to reward valor in the field by a shocking license toward the populace. British historians, statesmen and officers protested with generous horror against this conduct, which, however, continued to he tolerated by his superior officer.

Leaving the British encampment on the North Anna, near Hanover Courthouse, on June 3rd, 1781, Tarleton advanced swiftly towards Charlottesville, reaching Louisa Courthouse at eleven pm of the same day. Here he halted for only three hours, and pushed on again through the night. His route lay near Castle Hill and Belvoir; the residences of Dr. Thomas Walker and of Mr. John Walker, his son. These gentlemen were entertaining members of the Legislature; the houses were surprised and surrounded in the early morning of the 4th, and host and guests were alike taken prisoner. We are told that the commander of the troops at Belvoir was a Captain Francis Kinloch, and among his prisoners was his American cousin of the same name. A halt of a few hours was made at Castle Hill for breakfast, and to this slight detention the Legislature is said to have owed its escape.

Jack Jouette

As it chanced, John Jouett, captain in the militia and a citizen of Charlottesville, was in the Cuckoo Tavern in Louisa when the legion swept by on the main road. Suspecting their destination, he quickly mounted his fine horse, and riding furiously by a seldom used and shorter route, he covered the forty miles in time to give warning several hours before the arrival of the enemy.

This was the famous "Jack Jouett's ride," which in dash, courage, and political importance surpassed that of New England's Paul Revere.

Hearken good people: awhile abide And hear of stout Jack Jouett's ride;

How he rushed his steed, nor stopped nor stayed

Till he warned the people of Tarleton's raid.

The moment his warning note was rehearsed

The State Assembly was quickly dispersed.

In their haste to escape, they did not stop

Until they had crossed the mountaintop.

And upon the other side come down.

To resume their sessions in Staunton Town.

His parting steed he spurred,

In haste to carry the warning

To that greatest statesman of any age,

The Immortal Monticello Sage.

Here goes to thee, Jack Jouett!

Lord keep thy memory green;

You made the greatest ride, sir,

That ever yet was seen.

Randall says that Jouett stopped at Monticello "a little after sunrise," and gave information to the Governor of Tarleton's approach. The speakers of the two Houses and several other members were guests there. They "breakfasted at leisure," and the members then went in to Charlottesville, where the House hastily adjourned to re-convene in Staunton.

In the mean time, Tarleton and his legion pushed on with their accustomed speed.7 Before reaching the Rivanna, they met and destroyed twelve wagon-loads of clothing. destined for the American army in North Carolina. On reaching the river, a company was dispatched, under a Capt. McLeod,8 to surprise Monticello by way of the Secretary's Ford, while the remainder dashed through the river and up the hill by the road which then led from near the present Woolen Mills, along the general course of the C. & 0. tracks. They expected to find the Legislature in morning session. The retiring members had barely left town, they were pursued and seven of them were captured.9

Among those who fled was Gen. Stevens, who had been compelled to retire from the army by a wound, and who had then become a member of the House of Delegates. "Attired as usual in the plain dress of a Virginia farmer, and mounted by chance on a shabby horse, he was soon overtaken by the dragoons. But a little way ahead was a more attractive game, a horseman in a scarlet coat and military hat and plume, and probably therefore an officer of rank. The soldiers spurred on without noticing Stevens, who soon turned aside and escaped. The showy gentleman was no officer, but the same Mr. Jouett, who had an eccentric habit of wearing such habiliments. After he had coquetted with his pursuers long enough, he gave his fleet horse the spur, and was speedily out of sight."10

At Monticello, all had been hastily arranged for flight. The family had collected their possessions, and Jefferson had secured his most important papers. After nearly two hours of this activity, a Mr. Hudson rode up and stated that the British were ascending the Mountain. At once Jefferson sent off his wife and children by carriage, under the care of a young gentleman, and escorted by servants. Their destination was Enniscorthy, fourteen miles distant, the seat of Col. Coles in the Green Mountain neighborhood. Jefferson then took his telescope and proceeded by a cross path to a point between Mnticello and Carter's Mountain. Hearing no tramp of approaching cavalry, he walked a short distance up Carter's Mountain to a rock from which he could obtain a good view of Charlottesville. Observing nothing unusual in the town, he supposed the alarm premature, and concluded to return to his house to complete the care of his papers. After walking a few rods, he discovered that his light-walking sword had slipped from its sheath. Returning for this, another glance showed him the streets of the village swarming with dragoons. (The uniform of the legion being white, faced with green, and the infantry's being red, they would have been easily distinguishable at that distance.) His horse had been brought to the gap between the mountains; he mounted and rode swiftly off to overtake his family, learning later that Captain McLeod was already at that time in possession of Monticello.

It is said that two trusted slaves were engaged in hiding Jefferson's dinner plates and other valuables under the wooden floor of the portico, at the instant of McLeod's arrival. A glimpse of white through the trees gave uninjured warning, and the one on the outside hastily closed the opening, leaving his comrade imprisoned below, where with rare fidelity he remained without food or light for eighteen hours. The reason for Tarleton's leniency at Monticello has never been known, but it is a fact that he gave "strict orders that nothing should be injured," and that these orders were scrupulously observed by the troops. "He behaved very genteelly with me," was Jefferson's comment, he having expected that as Governor of the State his home would be the target for especial malice.

In Charlottesville, also, Tarleton's record was one of surprising restraint. Returning from their futile pursuit of the lawmakers, his men destroyed stores in the town amounting to 1000 new muskets, 400 barrels of powder, several hogsheads of tobacco and a quantity of soldier's clothing. A more serious loss was the destruction of the County records, which were preserved in the Courthouse and covered an interesting period of local history.

Of Tarleton's stay at The Farm (East end of Jefferson St. built before the Revolution on the Nicholas Meriwether estate. The older house was the home of Meriwether's heir and grandson, Colonel Nicholas Lewis. Tarleton, dashing up from the ford where the woolen mill now stands, greeted Mrs. Lewis with,'Madam, you dwell in a little paradise.' He established headquarters here for the single night he spent in Charlottesville sleeping wrapped in his cloak on the parlor floor.), one characteristic anecdote has been preserved. It was his custom, when on an expedition, to share the hardships of his men, sleeping always on the floor and wrapped in his horseman's cloak, while a saddled horse stood at the door. On the morning of the 5th, he rose early, and clad only in shirt, pantaloons and boots, had begun to shave, when the report of a shot was heard. It came from the direction of Monticello, and was so re-echoed as to sound like an irregular fire from several muskets. Before the sound had half died away, Tarleton, bareheaded, his face well lathered, and with drawn saber, was spurring fiercely in the direction of the reports, and shouting to his dragoons to mount and follow. "A more soldierly man in action," concludes Randall, "never drew a blade in battle."

Upon the 5th, Tarleton, with his prisoners, withdrew from the County, his movements being hastened by heavy rains, which threatened to flood the Rivanna, and by information of the gathering of the local militia.11 He joined Cornwallis at Elk Hill, a plantation that was the property of Jefferson at Point of Fork, now known as Columbia. Here the ravage was unchecked-barns and fences were all burned, the growing crops were destroyed in the fields, horses and cattle were carried off, and those too young for use were slaughtered, even the young blooded colts having their throats cut. The place was left a wilderness, but the injury, which Jefferson most deeply felt, was the fate of thirty slaves who were carried off by the troops. These poor victims were herded with others dying of smallpox and putrid fever. Being later deserted, four weeks afterwards they were creeping home to perish in the comfortable quarters, which Jefferson had set aside for them. Five of the negroes who had not been carried off, also contracted the disease and died.

Capt. John Jouett, Jr., the hero of the Raid, was a son of the proprietor of the old Swan tavern. The site of this building is now occupied by the RedLand Club of Charlottesville, and bears a commemorative tablet placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The old landlord is believed to be buried somewhere on these premises, but the son immigrated early to Kentucky, where he became a successful politician and the intimate friend of President Andrew Jackson. (His son, Matthew Harris Jouett, the celebrated painter, was a Captain in the War of 1812, and the father of Admiral James Jouett. "Jack Jouett's" twelfth child was named Thomas Jefferson, perhaps in memory of the father's dramatic ride.) Jouett's service to the State of Virginia was suitably recognized by the General Assembly, which in 1786 presented him with an elegant sword.12 It is an odd fact, however, that popular fancy, at the time, did not seem taken by his exploit. We do not find little Jouetts among the next generation. Tarleton was already an Albemarle name, so that its use as a Christian name has no significance.

For safety, a large quantity of valuable stores had been collected by the State government at Albemarle Old Courthouse, near Scott's Ferry (the present Scottsville). In order to destroy these, Cornwallis again despatched Tarleton to invade Albemarle. To Lafayette belongs the honor of its protection, and it is interesting to picture these youthful officers engaged in a struggle in which some personal rivalry may have added to their professional zeal. There was but four years' difference in their ages, Lafayette having been only nineteen when in 1777 he landed on our shores and was made a Major-general. His idealistic and enthusiastic type of mind suited well with his years, and perhaps helped to fasten upon him the nickname of "The Boy," by which he was generally known in the British army. Tarleton, on the other hand, with his boundless ambition, callous temper and cynical heart. was the complete man of the world, and it is only through the calendar that we perceive his youth. (We are told that in appearance Banastre Tarleton was below middle size, strong, stout and heavily built, and that at will he could assume the elegance of manner to which he was born.) Hastening to the rescue, Lafayette moved cautiously from Culpeper through Orange and the upper part of Louisa, to Boswell's Tavern, near the Albemarle line.

Boswell's Tavern

Tarleton, however, swiftly obtained a position of such strength that it seemed for Lafayette a choice between a hopeless battle and the abandonment of the stores. But Layfayette was up for the crisis.

"There was a rough road, long disused, leading from a few miles below Boswell's to a point on Mechunk Creek; forthwith Lafayette set to work his pioneers and ax men; the road was opened, the army passed along it, and the next morning, to the astonishment of Tarleton, his adversary was encamped in an impregnable position on the Creek, and just between the British army and the stores at Albemarle Courthouse! The enemy was once more baffled, changed his front, and marched slowly towards the eastern coast.

"An incident during the opening of 'The Marquis's Road,' happily illustrated the commingled gentleman and soldier of Lafayette's character. Full of zeal, he was dashing at a swift gallop along the line, when his horse struck a private at work, and felled him to the earth. The Marquis instantly dismounted. 'Soldier, are you hurt?' he said. The man, who had risen uninjured, replied that he was not. 'I ask your pardon,' said Lafayette, and waving his hand with a smile, he was soon out of sight.''13

HOW DECEPTION HELPED DEFEAT TARLETON AT COWPENS

During the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) one of the most feared and hated British officers was Sir Banaster Tarleton. Lt. Col. Tarleton came to America during the first year of the war and participated in numerous campaigns ranging from the capture of New York in 1776, to the capture of Charleston in 1780.

As a commander of a British cavalry and light infantry legion (approximately 1100 men), he had the reputation as a hard charging and aggressive officer who appeared to be invincible on the field of battle. His unit had defeated opposing American forces on four separate occasions during the summer of 1780. In addition to his fighting prowess, Tarleton was also known for his merciless treatment of rebel soldiers and had earned the nickname, the Butcher after his unit slaughtered the surrendering survivors of a Virginia regiment he had defeated on May 27, 1780, at Waxham Creek, South Carolina.

In January, 1781, upon learning that the American Southern Army had split its forces in two, the British commander, General Cornwallis, sent Tarleton and his men to track down and destroy the detachment led by American General Daniel Morgan.

Rather than running from the approaching and seemingly unbeatable Tarleton, Morgan, whose force equaled the Brits in numbers, decided to fight the Butcher by laying a trap for him at Cowpens, South Carolina. Morgan believed he could take advantage of his adversary’s aggressiveness and use it against him by employing the element of deception to feign a retreat and lure Tarleton into a situation where his advancing forces could be enveloped and attacked from both sides and from behind.

In an effort to carry out his plan, on January 17, Morgan aligned his army in defensive positions across an open field that appeared ideal for the type of horse-mounted charge that Tarleton liked to launch. The American general instructed the soldiers deployed in the middle of his front-line formations to retreat to the rear after briefly engaging the enemy in order to draw the attacking Brits in. The plan worked to perfection. Tarleton ordered his troops to advance into the area vacated by the retreating Americans and before long found himself in a situation where he was completely surrounded. The line in front of him had become a circle around him.

When the battle ended not long after it had began, Morgan had scored a smashing victory over one of the best legions in the army of King George III. While suffering only 73 casualties (12 killed and 61 wounded), the Americans decimated Tarleton’s unit by inflicting 930 casualties (110 killed, 830 wounded and/or captured) on the British force. The once invincible Butcher, who along with a handful of his men managed to flee the fight to avoid death or capture, had lost 90% of the soldiers under his command.

Postscript: Tarleton retreated to Yorktown with Cornwallis, where he was taken prisoner. He returned to England in 1781 where he went on to become a member of Parliament and, in 1812, a general. Morgan, whose victory at Cowpens is considered one of the most brilliant tactical feats of the war, went on to become a member of Congress.

CHARLOTTESVILLE'S FIRST SETTLERS

The settlement of Piedmont was long delayed. As the watercourses were the natural arteries of travel, civilization at first clung to the streams and bays of the lower country. For more than a century the Commonwealth had no town of importance, and even in the tidewater counties, where rich plantations stretched for miles along the banks of creek and river, roads into the interior were few and primitive. Under these conditions, the falls and rapids of the upper streams were effectual barriers to colonization.

Of the wanderers who first drifted to our hills, we have no more record than of the wild fowl, which at that time darkened our waters. Probably, the especially daring trapper, or the fugitive from justice, reached the high lands at an early date, but it was not until 1717 that white men made a recorded passage of the Blue Ridge. The records of Governor Spottswood's gay and chivalrous company show that these explorers followed the valley of the Rapidan, thus passing to the north of Albemarle. It was probably by ascending the headwaters of the Rivanna that they reached Swift Run Gap, in Greene County, by which they descended into the Valley.

After this expedition, the tide of population set rapidly westward, and adventurers and frontiersmen were soon penetrating the dense forest tracts of upper Virginia.

The first patents within the present boundaries of Albemarle were made in 1727, hut before this the region had been entered, up the streams of the South Anna, the James, the Rivanna and the hardware, and the log hut of the hunter had begun to rise in sheltered hollows or beside bold springs.

The life of these early comers was similar to that of the frontiersmen of other States. The streams swarmed with fish of many kinds, including shad and herring in their season; water-fowl, wild turkeys, pigeons and (doves were incredibly plentiful, and deer, elk and bear were abundant.

From the buffalo trails which crossed the Blue Ridge at Simon’s Gap, Jarman’s Gap, Beagle’s Gap and Rockfish, we can infer that these creatures had formerly been numerous, and that they perhaps were still to be met with.

Dr. Edgar Woods, in his valuable History of Albemarle, calls attention to the many local names Turkey Run. Buck Mountain, Buffalo Meadow, Beaver Dam, Bear Creek, Pigeon Top, Elk Run, which bear witness to this profusion of animal life. Edgehill Mountain was formerly known as Wolf Trap Mountain, which from a large pit near the mountain’s top, on the farm of Elisha Thurman, was used for this purpose.

In a community where money was rarely handled, and the recognized mediums of exchange were tobacco and skins, hunting was regarded as a profession requiring great skill.

Kercheval tells us that: "The fall and early part of the winter was the season for hunting the deer, and the whole of the winter, including part of the spring, for bears and fur-skinned animals. It was a customary saying that fur is good during every month in the name of which the letter R occurs.

"An important part of a boy’s education, at this Hunting time, was the imitating of the calls of bird and beast. By the gobbling and other sounds of wild turkeys, these keen-eyed and ever watchful fowl were often brought within reach of the rifle;1 the bleating of the fawn brought its dam to her death in the same way, or a wolf-howl would draw response from a concealed but near-by pack."

The rifle of antiquated make was long used with great skill in our mountain hollows. Miss Margaret Rogers, of Greenwood, gives this incident, which she heard from her uncle, Mr. Wm. Wallace: One of the old-time mountaineers, who was a famous hunter, was never known to purchase bullets for his rifle, or lead for casting them. When questioned, he was evasive, but at length in confidence he told Mr. Wallace that he dug all the lead he wanted from the mountain-side, "as his father had, fore him." In proof of this assertion, on a later visit to civilization, he brought with him a chunk of lead the size of a man's hand and the thickness of his finger, and showing the axe with which it evidently had been chopped. He intimated that he would bequeath to Mr. Wallace this vein, but at his death nothing was left.

Edgemont in Cismont

During the early years of the County, the scalps of wolves were reported in large numbers. One hundred and forty pounds of tobacco were allowed for the scalp of an old wolf, and seventy-five for that of a young one, that is, one under six months Wolves old. Later, the awards were made in money. These reports are preserved in the County records, and continue with more or less regularity down to 1849, when Isaac W. Garth was awarded twelve dollars for killing an old wolf. Jonathan Barksdale, Samuel Jameson, William Ramsey and Ryland Rodes are the names, which appear most frequently in this connection. [Woods' History of Albemarle]

CHARLOTTESVILLE'S GREAT LAND OWNERS

In 1727 the County of Goochland, which included present Albemarle, was founded. On June 16, 1727, George Hoomes obtained a grant of thirty-one hundred acres, and Nicholas Meriwether one of. thirteen thousand seven hundred and sixty-two acres, "at the first ledge of mountains called Chestnut." This was the first appropriation of the soil of Albemarle. These grants lay east of the Rivanna. Two years later, Dr. George Nicholas obtained a grant for 2600 acres situated on the James, and including the present site of the village of Warren.1

These investors in wilderness lands were wealthy men who already had large holdings in the eastern counties. During the next ten years others of the same class followed them, many of who regarded their great patents as speculation, or a provision for younger sons, and did not expect immediately to occupy the land.

Secretary John Carter whose name is still attached to his first holding, Carter’s Mountain, Col. Thomas Carr, John Minor, Peter Jefferson whose name is perpetuated in Peter’s Mountain, Charles Hudson, Wm. Randolph and the Lewis’s were among these earliest patentees.

Settlers also soon pushed in from the West, and in 1734 Michael Woods and his son-in-law William Wallace patented large tracts near Woods Gap; they having been the first to enter across the Blue Ridge from the Valley.

During the first years of the County, its activities, both social and political, were centered in a few plantations, whose owners were men of great prominence. It is only through acquaintance with these typical homes that we can understand the life of that day.

One such famous house is Viewmont, which is believed to be the oldest building still standing in the County. We do not know the date of its construction, but its owner, Col. Joshua Fry, was living there near Carter’s Bridge, in a group of fine trees, and surrounded by outbuildings of great age, it is a true picture of old-world simplicity.

Mr. Wm. Duke, past owner of Sunnyside, states that the frame house was originally loop-holed, [The present windows are high, but only two square panes in width, suggesting widened slits] and that a depression still to be seen in the lawn, and which leads towards the woods, is supposed to have been a tunnel by which water was obtained, or communication secured, during attack. On the east gable, a great chimney, standing sixteen and a half feet at base and a yard deep, is a beautiful and perfect example of Colonial masonry, the large and mellowed brick being laid in true Flemish bond. And within the house, the carved wainscoting and mantels, and the graceful stair, show it to have been the home of a family of dignity and position.

We do not know if Viewmont, Castle Hill and the Old House at Edgehill were constructed by one of these designs, though they have similarities, which suggest a common origin. If they were in Mr. Jefferson’s mind at the time of his stricture, we can only wonder that some memory of their roof- lines or gable-ends did not rise to modify the denunciation.

The builder and owner of Viewmont was Col. Joshua Fry, of whom it has been said that no other person in the State of like social position, wealth, capacity and public service has been so neglected by posterity.

Col. Fry was born in England, and had the great advantage of an Oxford education. Coming early to this country, his career was one of extraordinary industry and energy, even at a time when the usual life of a Virginia planter was diversified and full. A professor of mathematics at William and Mary, he was a surveyor of note, and served as Commissioner of the Crown on a number of arduous expeditions. He was also one of the Commissioners for Virginia at the Treaty of Logansport, and served in the House of Burgesses.

Taking a prominent part in the formation of Albemarle County, he was appointed Surveyor for the county, a position which, in an unsettled region; of virgin forest, entailed severe labor. He was also presiding Justice of the Peace, and County Lieutenant an office which originally was known as Commander of the Plantations, and was one of high authority, the incumbent being virtually Governor of the County, with power to call out the militia and to order court martials.

It is, however, upon Col. Fry’s reputation as a soldier that his fame is based. Upon the outbreak of the French and Indian war of 1754, he was appointed Commander of the Virginia forces, and served as Colonel of the Virginia Regiment in which the youthful Washington was next in command. Upon this expedition Col. Fry died, after a short illness caused by a fall from his horse, May 31st, 1754. At this place Wills Creek, near Cumberland, Md. he was buried, in what was then a wild and remote region. Washington and his army attended the funeral. On a large oak tree 5, (which in 1880 was still standing), Washington cut the following inscription: Under this tree lies the body of THE GOOD, THE JUST AND THE NOBLE FRY.

In 1786, John Fry sold Viewmont to Gov. Edmund Randolph, who spent much time there for twelve years. It was then sold to Wm. C. Carter, and later became the property of John Harris.

4. Stated by his biographer and descendant, Rev. Philip Slaughter, D.D. Washington had pushed on in advance as far as Port Necessity, Pa., but it might have been possible to cover the fifty or so miles between them on such an occasion especially as the command now devolved upon him. 5. This tree has since fallen, and Col. Fry's body has been removed to Rose Hill Cemetery, Cumberland, where his grave bears a marker.

Perhaps the largest owner of Albemarle land was Nicholas Meriwether. In addition to large estates in the lower country, he took out successive grants amounting to nineteen thousand acres in Albemarle. In 1735 he was granted 1020 acres west of the Rivanna, and lying along the stream, from Moore's Creek to Meadow Creek.

For this he paid to George II the sum of "twenty-one pounds good and lawful money." (The Colonial pound was not the pound sterling, and amounted only to $3.33). He also was required to pay to the Crown, for each fifty acres, a fee rent of one shilling yearly, to be rendered upon the feast of Saint Michael the Arch Angel, it being distinctly stated that he was not required to render Knight's Service.

On this tract, Meriwether built the Old House at The Farm, where he lived until his death in 1744. The location of this first building is not known, but it was probably near the spring, and opposite the hill, which bears the present dwelling. This was the first plantation west of the river, and its name is believed to have originated from the fact that as the surrounding territory was still virgin forest, the cleared spot was a conspicuous landmark.

Nicholas Lewis Farm circa 1926

The present house at The Farm was built in 1828 by Mr. John A. G. Davis, of the University. In the same year, and by the same plan, that Edgehill was built. The design having been made some years before by Jefferson for the use of his son-in-law, Gov. Thomas Mann Randolph.

At Meriwether’s death, The Farm passed to his Nicholas Lewis, uncle of the explorer, and its owners play a prominent part in the records of that day. Nicholas Lewis's wife was Mary, daughter of Dr. Walker of Castle Hill, and the following anecdote suggests that she had inherited something of her father s spirit: At the time of Tarleton’s raid, her husband was absent in the Revolutionary army. Her home was made the British cavalryman s headquarters, an unenviable distinction. Mrs. Lewis is said to have received Col. Tarleton with dignity and spirit, and to have told him that he should meet Virginia s men in the field, rather than war on her defenseless women.

Apparently the rebuke was felt, for during the eighteen hours of his stay there was no damage of importance. However, after his departure, she learnt that his soldiers had made way with her fine flock of ducks, leaving only the veteran drake. She promptly ordered a servant to take the drake and ride after Tarleton, presenting it with her compliments and stating that as its comrades were gone, he had better take it too. Appreciating the sting of the message, he accepted it with gracefully ironic thanks and a bow to the saddle-bow, and the little passage at arms noticeably softened Mrs. Lewis's resentment, as was shown by her ever after preserving the chair he had used. (This little episode was immensely popular with the writers of the period as it appears and re-appears in accounts of the raid.

In affectionate amusement, her family gave her the name of "Captain Moll," by which she is widely referred to.)

In 1741 the estate of Castle Hill passed through marriage into the hands of Dr. Thomas Walker of King and Queen County. From this time on he was one of the most prominent men of the region, and as physician, surveyor, planter, importer, explorer, soldier and politician, his life was one of extraordinary activity. He was for years Indian Commissioner, and conducted for the Government many large transactions in the purchase of lands. Copies of these deeds of transfer, with the "marks" of Indian chiefs (rude representations of turtle, deer and wolf) are preserved by a branch of his descendants. A spot in the garden of Castle Hill is still pointed out as the scene of his conferences with visiting chieftains. As a planter, he is believed to have introduced into Albemarle from New York the apple since so famous as the Albemarle Pippin.

Castle Hill

Dr. Walker was the first white man to enter Kentucky, his expedition having preceded both Gist's and Daniel Boone's. Having been employed by a London company to explore a huge tract which is had purchased in the Wilderness, he got together a band consisting of six men, eight horses and a pack of valuable dogs, and started West in the early spring of 1750. The expedition covered a period of four months, and was one of thrilling adventure. In the concluding entry in his Journal, Dr. Walker states: "We killed 13 buffaloes, 8 elks, 53 bears, 20 deer, 4 wild geese, about 150 turkeys, besides small game. We might have killed three times as much meat if we had wanted it."

William Cabell Rives, in his preface to Dr. Walker’s Journal, says: "Castle Hill was built by Dr. Walker in 1765, and stands today in excellent preservation. This house is still the home of some of the descendants of its first owner, who do honor to their lineage. For generations it has been the seat of hospitality and culture. The slow growing box-trees, with archway cut through their evergreen sides, which border the lawn, have climbed to the height of more than thirty feet, and tell the story to the most casual observer of the long years of their gradual ascent. The small panes of glass in the venerable-looking windows, and the large brass door-locks of the house, were brought from London when Virginia was a Colony. A frequent visitor to Castle Hill was John Marshall.

John Marshall - First Chief Justice of the United States

In the ample hall, the youthful, music-loving Jefferson played the fiddle, while the still younger Madison danced. Here the doors have opened to welcome five men who either were to be, or were already, Presidents of the United States, and to many statesmen, judges, diplomats and soldiers. In this home, in 1794, the old pioneer, near the end of his eightieth year, closed his eyes on earthly scenes."

Dr. Walker was the father of twelve children, most of who married into Albemarle families, where they and their descendants have played an honorable part in the history of the County.

In 1734, Michael Woods7, with his wife, sons and sons-in-law, 8 and their families, entered the County from the west. This little band of twenty-five or thirty persons, young and old, coming from Pennsylvania by way of the Shenandoah Valley, had traveled about 225 miles, and are believed to have been the first whites to cross through Woods Gap now Jarman’s Gap by the old Indian trail. Spreading over the adjacent lands, they took up large holdings from Ivy to Greenwood.

At this time their nearest and only neighbors on the west were the two year-old clearing of John Lewis, near where Staunton now stands; while to the east, the forest was unbroken between them and the plantations around Scott’s Ferry and Keswick. Under these primitive conditions, it is not surprising that it was in such chaos until 1737, that Michael Woods made formal entry of his lands. In that year be obtained a crown grant of 1337 acres, and also purchased from Charles Hudson 2,000 acres on Ivy Creek.

The original name of the Michael Woods home plantation was Mountain Plains. (The Mountain Blair Plains Church having been built on a part of the Parkland, and named in commemoration). Unfortunately, with the passing of the property to Chief Justice John Blair, prior to 1788, the name of the home was changed, and it has since been known as Blair Park. A descendant of the first Michael, and a cane, once the property of the old pioneer, now owns it. is now cherished there.

Old Michael was the ancestor of the Holkam family of Woodses, of Dr. Edgar Woods, author of The History of Albemarle, and of many other branches, which in Albemarle, Virginia and the West have played a worthy part in the life of their day. It has been calculated that more than 160 of these have been in the ministry of the different denominations.9

Edgemont in Keene

With the passage of a few decades, the majority of the great early grants were much reduced. Inheritance and sale had cut them into more numerous plantations, which, however, were still of hand- some acreage. Many of the old County places first came under cultivation about this time. Though the distinguished John Carter (Son of 'King Carter" of eastern Virginia, and Secretary of the Colony), was the owner of nearly ten thousand acres in Albemarle, and as much more in what is now Amherst, he never resided in the upper country. He, however, maintained two establishments, on his Albemarle property, both being plentifully supplied with slaves. One of these was the Mill tract on the north fork of the Hardware; the other, known as Clear Mount, may have been the site of Blenheim or of Redlands10. In the Letters of a British Officer we are told that Blenheim was named for the battle of that name. Secretary Carter left this property to his second son, Edward, who lived there for many years and represented the County in the House of Burgesses with Dr. Thomas Walker from 1767 to 1769. He also served in the House of Delegates with George Nicholas11 in 1788.

The Barracks

During the time of the presence of the Convention prisoners at The Barracks, Capt. Philips, the British commander, was stationed at Blenheim, and we are told that at that time Col. Carter owned 1500 slaves.

Blenheim

Robert, son of Col. Edward Carter, built on the southern portion of his father s large estate Redlands in 1789. Mr. Jefferson is said to have influenced the design of this beautiful mansion. Another plantation, which was formed from the Carter estate, was Indian Camp, now known as Morven. Wm. Champe Carter sold this property in 1796 to William Short of Philadelphia, an ex-Revolutionary officer and Minister to The Hague under Washington. The selling price was 1567 pounds, 9 shillings. In 1813 Col. Short sold it to David Higginbotham, who changed the name to Morven and built the present brick house about 1820. The plans are said to have been furnished by Mr. Jefferson, who also ordered for it from Paris the mantel of Carrara marble, which still adorns the drawing room. The quaint cottage, which stands on the grounds, is no doubt the "old house." A part of Indian Camp is now the well-known Ellerslie.

Ellerslie

The Nicholas Meriwether grant was soon partitioned and part of which went to the young widow of Nicholas III, and became, upon her marriage to Dr. Walker, the Castle Hill estate.

This in turn was subdivided many times, Cismont, Castalia, Music Hall, Belvoir, 12 Kinloch, Merrie Mill, Keswick,13 Edgeworth, Cobham Park, The Creek and Machunk 14 being some of the resulting plantations.

Through David Meriwether, another son of old Nicholas, the plantation of Clover Fields is traced. The first dwelling here was built in 1760 by Col. Clover, Nicholas Meriwether’s, great grandson of the original Fields owner. This Nicholas was noted for his courage and decision in times of danger. In 1755 he was one of four soldiers belonging to the Virginia Regiment who bore the wounded General Braddock from the field after his defeat near Pittsburgh.

(Col. Meriwether later received from the General’s sister in Ireland a gold-laced, embroidered military dress coat, which had belonged to the General, and which was long preserved as a relic in the Meriwether family.)

William Meriwether, "the bridge builder," was a scion of this home. He constructed the first bridge at Rio Hill, and also the first on the stage line near the present Woolen Mills. It is related that upon occasional protests from the stage companies over his toll-rate, he would composedly take up the flooring of his bridge, and allow the difficulties of Secretary's Ford to present his point of view...an argument which was invariably very effective.

The present brick dwelling was built about 1846. Clover Fields is one of the few early plantations which has descended in the original family.

The Randolph grant of 2400 acres, lying between Shadwell and Belmont15 was one of the earliest in the County, having been obtained "a few days earlier" than that of Peter Jefferson, in 1735. The family, however, did not have residence here until 1790, when Col. Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., and the grandson of the original owner built the old house. Colonel afterwards Governor Randolph, was Jefferson s son-in-law, and though he had large estates on James River he practically lived at Edge-hill, in order to be near Jefferson, whose property he largely directed during his many absences. In 1828 the present mansion was erected by Coy. Randolph, from plans drawn for his daughter by Mr. Jefferson. At this time the old house was moved back to the position it now occupies. For many years it served as the school- house for the famous Edgehill School. Two magnificent leaning tulip trees are said to have been promising saplings at the time of this move, and to have been bent down to permit the building to pass over them. The view at Edgehill is said to be very similar to that at Edgehill, Warwickshire, for which it was named.

Edgehill

In 1771, Dr. George Gilmer of Williamsburg married Lucy, a daughter of Dr. Walker of Castle Hill, and settled in Charlottesville for the practice of his profession. He was a successful and prominent physician, and counted both Jefferson and Madison among his patients. Following the custom of his age, he was also active in politics, having served with distinction in the House of Burgesses in the stormy years preceding the Revolution. He also served as Sheriff in 1787. We are told that during the War Dr. Gilmer attempted to turn his knowledge of chemistry to account in the manufacture of gunpowder. He writes to Jefferson that his powder "is full strong," but he cannot grain it.

Mrs. Gilmer, a younger sister of the widely known "Captain Moll" of The Farm, seems to have been endowed with at least an equal share of their distinguished father's spirit. In the early years of the War she is said to have given her jewels to Jefferson, to be used for certain expenses of the cause. At the time of Tarleton's Raid, Dr. Gilmer was not at home. When the British troops entered Charlottesville a guest of the Gilmer’s, doubtless a member of the Legislature mounted his horse and attempted to escape. He was shot down and carried off by the enemy, and was at first reported to have been killed. Learning a few hours later that he was still alive, Mrs. Gilmer at once determined to go to his aid. Accompanied only by a maiden sister, she made her way perilously through the streets of the village, then filled with drunk and disorderly troopers, and forced her way into the presence of Tarleton himself. The Colonel was so impressed by her courage that he sends his own surgeon to dress the bleeding and insensible man, and then restored him to her care. He recovered, to serve gallantly his country.

From Jefferson's letters we learn that in 1786 Dr. Gilmer purchased from John Harvie the plantation of Pen Park16 Here he spent the remainder of his life, his home being noted throughout the State for the charm of its social intercourse and the elegance of its hospitality.

Among the sons of Dr. Gilmer was the brilliant young lawyer, Francis Gilmer, whose name will always be associated with the birth of the University. Another son was Dr. John Gilmer of Edgemont, on the Barboursville road. He was a successful and progressive practitioner, and was the first in this region of the State to attempt the treatment of smallpox by inoculation, about 1802. At this time the method was not fully developed, and there was an element of danger, which stirred the terrors of the unscientific. Dr. Gilmer established a hospital for the relief of this disease, presumably on his own plantation, and proceeded with his experiments until a death among his patients brought the popular antagonism to a head. There were threats of summary action, and it was thought best to carry the difficulty into the County Court, where the humane physician was put under bond for three months "for his good behavior, especially in not alarming the neighborhood in which his hospital is established, unless he fist obtain the consent of the citizens."

The great Coles estate in the Green Mountain neighborhood was not an original grant. About 1769 John Coles II, of Hanover County, purchased from the Eppes grant a tract of 3000 acres, which he named Enniscorthy 18 in memory of the family seat in Leinster, Ireland. Here he maintained at first a hunting lodge. Converting this into a permanent home, he lived there in great style and comfort for the remainder of his life. Becoming, during the War, a Colonel of militia, he was made Commander of the Convention Troops during their imprisonment at The Barracks.

Col. Coles was an enthusiastic turf man and owned one of the finest stables in Virginia. The partitioning of the property among the Cole’s sons resulted in the erection of three other beautiful mansions. A brick removed from a Woodville chimney bears the workman s initials, and the date 1796, suggesting that the oldest son, Walter, was settled here at that time. Estouteville first known as Calycanthus Hill, but afterwards renamed in honor of the Baron d’ Estouteville, a Norman ancestor is said to have been first built about 1800. The present beautiful dwelling was begun about 1815, and shows the Jeffersonian influence.

Estouteville was noted for its magnificent conservatories, which during the Civil War furnished the Confederate hospitals in Charlottesville an abundance of fine lemons. The fourth of these estates was Tallwood, the home of Tucker Coles, who also represented the County in the House of Delegates.

Enniscorthy

THE FORMATION OF ALBEMARLE COUNTY

This county was created by act of Legislature in September 1744, from a part of Goochland County. The act of establishment ordained its existence to begin tile first of January, 1745, and the reason alleged was tile "divers inconveniences attending the upper inhabitants of Goochland by reason of their great distance from tile courthouse and other places usually appointed for public meetings."

Its present length is 35 miles, its mean width 20, and its area 700 sq. miles, but the original boundaries of Albemarle embraced the county of Buckingham, parts of Appomattox and Campbell, and the counties of Amherst, Nelson and Fluvanna, the Blue Ridge being the western line. The northeastern portion of the present County remained in Louisa sixteen years longer, and there is a tradition that this later readjustment of boundaries was the result of a political rivalry between Dr. Thomas Walker of Castle Hill (which lies in the region ceded) and William Johnson of Louisa, ancestor of Chapman Johnson, finding one county too small for their conflicting ambitions.

In accordance with a custom already begun of commemorating the Governors of the Commonwealth, the name of Albemarle was given to the new county from the title of William Anne Keppel, second Earle of Albemarle, who was Governor-in-Chief of Virginia from 1737 to 1754. This nobleman probably was never in America, as no record of such a visit exists. A godchild of Queen Anne, as his second name commemorates, he was a gallant soldier and successful statesman, having served as Lord Justice of the Realm and Ambassador to France. He died in middle age, a Knight of the Garter, and the father of fifteen children. In his brilliant and crowded life, we may suppose that the giving of his title to a back-woods county appeared to him more of a condescension than an honor.

Birdwood - Designed by Thomas Jefferson

The organization of the county took place in February, 1745, doubtless on tile plantation of Mrs. Scott,1 near tile present Scottsville. Those present were Joshua Fry, Peter Jefferson, Allen Howard, William Cabell, Joseph Thompson and Thomas Ballou. The oaths taken were those of a Justice of the Peace, and a Judge of a Court of Chancery, and the Abjuration and Test oaths were subscribed-the former renouncing allegiance to the House of Stuart, and the latter affirming the receiving of the Sacrament according to the Church of England.

Scottsville, or Scott's Ferry, as it was originally called, was, until the advent of the railroad, the most important settlement in Albemarle County.

Even at this early date its natural advantages had attracted the pioneers, who found in its smooth water and sheltering hills a promising location. Then, too, it commanded a wide view of the adjacent low-grounds, and of the James for several miles. This, at a time when the river was the thoroughfare for hostile Indians or undesirable settlers, was of the first importance.2 Thus it was natural that the first courthouse should have been placed at Scott's Ferry. Here a courthouse, prison, stocks and pillory were erected, and their location is still pointed out, about a mile west of the present Scottsville, on the estate originally called Belle Grove, but since 1822 known as Valmont; It was ordered that this building should be an exact copy of the Goochland courthouse, which, as recorded in the Goochland Order Book No. 2, was "thirty-six feet long and twenty feet wide from outside to outside." The cost of the Goochland building was ten thousand pounds of tobacco in Cask. It is said that the tenant's house at Valmont is the Old Courthouse, which was partly demolished and changed to a dwelling (but with the use of the original timbers), a few years after the Revolutionary War.

In accordance with the laws of the Colony, there were at once selected nine magistrates, "of the most honest and discreet inhabitants," who acted without reward. These magistrates had jurisdiction both civil and criminal. If the question before them was one of law only, they decided on it themselves, but if it was of fact, it must be referred to a jury.3

That they were not slack in the discharge of punishment is indicated by the following reports 4: "Eleanor Crawley was sentenced to receive fifteen lashes on her bare back, well laid on, for stealing linen of the value of eleven pence-a little over fifteen cents-and Pearce Reynolds to receive twenty-one for stealing a handkerchief of the same value. James, a negro of William Cabell, for stealing twelve pence, was burnt in the hand and given thirty-nine lashes at the whipping post. The Grand Jury presented George McDaniel for profane swearing two oaths in two months."

Thanks for visiting