Neavil's Ordinary

Fauquier County, VA
Marker No. BX-7

Marker Text: Near here stood George Neavil's Ordinary, built at an early date and existing as late as 1792. George Washington and George William Fairfax on their way to the Shenandoah Valley stopped here in 1748.

Location: At the intersection of County Route 667 (Old Dumfries Road) and County Route 670 (Taylor Road/Old Auburn Road), on Old Dumfries Road near Auburn, VA. Erected by the Conservation & Development Commission in 1928.

  During my travels I have taken many photographs of historical markers related to former Ordinaries as they were called. Many of the markers are referring to Ordinaries which once existed at the location, often during the colonial period of American history. Many of these former Ordinaries no longer exist and the exact location of the Ordinary may have been lost to history. Ordinaries at one time were quite common on the old colonial roads and a welcome sight to the weary traveler. The name Ordinary came over with the earlier settlers who had Ordinaries in England. Ordinaries were also called Public Houses, Inns or Taverns, though I am not sure if there was any difference between them based on the name.

The intersection of the two roads in the background.  Neavil’s Mill is located down the road on the left.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  Ordinaries provided a place for the traveler to get food, drink or whiskey. A place to sleep overnight, to stable and feed their horse. Ordinaries were important to the local people who lived nearby, the ordinary became a place to gossip, exchange news with the overnight guests, transact business such as selling land, hold auctions for livestock, pick up mail, and talk politics. Often a place to discuss issues related to independence from England.

  Ordinaries or public houses varied greatly in quality. Some were little more than one-room log cabin or frame buildings with lofts and only a little furniture. Ordinaries offered overnight lodging, but the traveler paid for a place to sleep, not necessarily a private bed. Often a person shared a bed with a total stranger or two.

Fort Upper Tract

Pendleton County, WV

Marker Text: Site of Fort Upper Tract, one of the forts erected under Washington's orders to guard the settlements. In 1758, Indians captured and burned it. Captain James Dunlap and 21 others were killed. No one escaped.

Location: On U.S. Route 220 on the northbound side of the road in Upper Tract, WV, about half way between Petersburg to the north and Franklin to the south.

  Today's marker is related to my prior post on Fort Loudoun in present day Winchester, VA. In 1755, George Washington arrived in Winchester to supervise the construction of Fort Loudoun and other frontier forts along the western frontier in Virginia during the French and Indian War. In present day, West Virginia there are several state historic markers indicating the location of these early forts.

Photo taken looking south on U.S. Route 220, south branch of the Potomac would be on the left of the photo.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  According documents left by George Washington, Fort Upper Tract was built between August 21 and November 9, 1756, by a Lieutenant Lomax and 20 soldiers probably aided by local settlers. Washington directed the fort's construction from wood in a quadrangular shape with walls 60 feet long and bastions in all four corners. The fort was to have barracks, a powder magazine, and other necessary buildings all built within the walls. The actual completed form of the fort is unknown.

  According to documents left by William Preston, the fort was destroyed in an Indian attack on April 27, 1758 and eighteen militiamen were killed at the fort. A letter in the Augusta County court records, written following the attack on the fort indicated some of the militiamen killed at the fort were reinforcement sent to Fort Upper Tract from Hog’s Fort in Brock Gap, about 22 miles to the east. Captain Dunlap, himself killed in the battle, had requested help upon spotting Indians in the area. The reinforcements arrived just before the fort was attacked. Local settlers Ludwick Fulk and William Elliot, their wives, and one stranger died with the militiamen.

“Old Mr. Flint's” Home

Washington County, MD

Marker Text: George Washington’s diary (while he visited Berkley Springs in 1769) states: “Aug. 30 Old Mr. Flint dined with us” and on Sept. 4: “Rid to the Potomac where my horses were. From thence to Mr. Flint’s and to the Pennsylvania Line, and returned to dinner.”

Location: Marker is west of Hancock, Maryland, in Washington County on Western Pike (Maryland Route 411), up the hill from the home mentioned on the marker. Erected by the State Roads Commission.

  I have always been interested in any marker related to George Washington, since I was a kid when my parents would take us on vacations. I just felt like I was a part of history when I could stand, where George Washington once stood. This marker on Route 144 west of Hancock, Maryland is an example of a simple marker stating that George Washington was here in 1769 and had dinner with a man called “Old Mr. Flint.”

Photo taken looking east on Route 144.  The home is located down the hill to the left.  Click any photo to enlarge.

  George Washington owned property in Bath, VA south of here, now called Berkeley Springs, WV and he frequently visited this area of Maryland and Virginia along the Potomac River. According to Washington's journal, he first visited this area when he was 15 years old while learning the surveying trade when he first came to Winchester, VA.

George Washington in Winchester

Marker No. Q-4-c
City of Winchester
Frederick County, VA

Marker Text:  In Mar. 1748, George Washington first visited Winchester, then known as Fredericktown, as a surveyor for Lord Fairfax. Washington purchased property in Winchester in 1753 and was an unsuccessful candidate for a House of Burgesses seat here in 1755. Winchester served as Washington's headquarters from 1755 to 1758 while he commanded Virginia troops on the western frontier during the French and Indian War. He was also involved with the construction of Fort Loudoun here and a series of other frontier forts authorized by the Virginia General Assembly during this period. He represented Frederick County in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1758 to 1765.

Location: On U.S. Route 11 (Martinsburg Pike) north of intersection with Route 1322 (Brooke Road) northside of Winchester. Grouped with marker A-4 (Fort Collier). Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 2005.

Photo taken looking north on U.S. Route 11. Click any photo to enlarge.

  Winchester played an important role in George Washington's early adult life, as a surveyor and the development of his military and political career. At the age of sixteen, Washington came to Winchester to begin what he thought would be his life's profession, surveying. He came to what was then called Frederick Town (Winchester) in March 1748 as a surveyor for Lord Fairfax who lived in nearby Greenway Court at White Post. He spent the next 10 years experiencing many of his firsts in the area.

Fort Loudoun

City of Winchester, Virginia
Marker No. Q-4k

Marker Text: Here in May 1756, overlooking the frontier town of Winchester, construction began on Fort Loudoun during the period of the French and Indian War (Seven Years' War in Europe). The fort, named for John Campbell, earl of Loudoun, was a square fortification with four bastions constructed of earth, wood, and stone. Col. George Washington, commander of the Virginia Regiment, designed the fort and supervised its construction until 1758. It served as Washington's command center for a series of forts authorized by the Virginia House of Burgesses and built on the frontier that extended from the Potomac River to North Carolina. A well, dug through limestone bedrock, survives.

Location: At the intersection of Loudoun Street and Peyton Street, about 200 feet north of the intersection, near 419 Loudoun Street, Winchester. Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 2006.

Photo taken looking toward downtown Winchester.  The fort sat on this hill overlooking the small frontier town. (Click any photo to  enlarge)

  Today, it is difficult for the traveller to imagine that this location in Winchester, VA was once at the crossroads of the western U.S. Today, we clearly view Winchester in the eastern U.S., but it one time it was on the frontier of the west. At the time Winchester, founded in 1752, was the first and only English-speaking settlement west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and nothing more than a frontier town with four cross streets during fort’s construction.

  This state historical marker at 419 N. Loudoun Street marks the spot where ground was broken for the fort’s construction on May 18, 1756. There is also a brass marker pictured below placed by The French and Indian War Foundation in 2006.

George Washington dined at The Dutchman

Frederick County, MD

George Washington
on his way to Frederick
Friday, August 5, 1785
Dined in a building on this site known as
The Dutchman's
One mile south of here is
Noland's Ferry frequently used by Washington on his travels.

Erected by William J. Grove, Lime Kiln, MD. 1932

Location: On Maryland Route 28 (Tuscarora Road) west of Maryland Route 85 (Buckeystown Pike) Near Tuscarora, Maryland, in Frederick County. About a mile north of the Potomac River.

  Traveling through Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia or West Virginia, the visitor will come across many markers both state markers and smaller markers and plaques telling the visitor that George Washington did something at this location. When I was younger taking vacations with my parents, we would generally include visiting historical sites combined with visiting relatives.

  Since my early years with my limited range of understanding of history, I found myself drawn to any marker related to any particular person I had learned about in school, such as, George Washington. I was fascinated by the the fact that I might be now standing at a place where George Washington once stood. I believe these early experiences that developed my interest in American history.

White Post

Marker No. T-7
Clarke County, VA

Marker Text:  The crossroads village of White Post grew up around the white-painted marker that Lord Fairfax had erected in the 1760s to point the way to Greenway Court (south), the nearby estate from which he managed his vast proprietary holdings including Battletown, now Berryville (north), Berry's Ferry (east), and Stephen's City (west). The post that gave the town its name has been replaced several times, but its form has been maintained as a village landmark and symbol of community identity for more than two centuries. Bishop William Meade was born at White Post and later led the remarkable revival of the Episcopal Church in the decades following the War of 1812.

Location:  On U.S. Route 340 (Lord Fairfax Parkway) at Route 658 (White Post Road) in White Post Village Park, south of U.S. Routes 50 & 17.  Erected by the Department of Historic Resources in 1997.

  Traveling around the U.S., I frequently encounter towns with odds names. Many towns are named after some notable individual who might have founded the community or the name may have derived from some natural formation or interesting feature of the terrain. Today's marker is about a town in Virginia named after a white post in the center of the town. Of course, this is no ordinary post according to the plaque on the post it was placed here by George Washington at the direction of Lord Fairfax who made his home near here in Greenway Court.

  White Post is a small crossroads village located in southwestern Clarke County at the intersection of state routes 658 and 628 near where U.S. Route 340 (Lord Fairfax Parkway) by passes the town. Marking the midpoint of these roads, the post is a white-painted, octagonal wood column that rises eleven feet in height and is sixty-four inches in circumference. A small lantern rests on top of the post, below which radiate four directional pointers labeled: Battletown (north); Greenway Court (south); Berry's Ferry (east); and Stephens City (west).

Greenway Court

Marker No. T-3
Clarke County, VA

Marker Text: Three miles south is Greenway Court, residence of Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, proprietor of the vast Northern Neck grant, which he inherited. Born in Leeds Castle, England, in 1693, Fairfax settled in Virginia, in 1747, for the rest of his life. He made Greenway Court his home in 1751. George Washington, employed as a surveyor on this grant, was there frequently in his youth. Fairfax died there, December 9, 1781.

Location: At the intersection of U.S. Routes 17/50 (John S. Mosby Highway) and U.S. Route 340 (Lord Fairfax Parkway) on the northwest corner of the intersection, east of Winchester, VA and southwest of Boyce, VA. Erected by the Virginia Conservation Commission in 1948.

Photo taken looking south on U.S. Route 340 (Lord Fairfax Parkway), the intersection with U.S. Routes 17/50 running left to right. Traveling down road in the background will take you to Greenway Court.

  The visitor to northern Virginia will encounter streets, roads, towns and counties and other places named for individuals important to Virginia's history. One such name is Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax, Baron of Cameron or simply Lord Fairfax. The Fairfax name is seen throughout northern Virginia. Fairfax County was created in 1742 from Prince William County for Lord Fairfax. There is Lord Fairfax Community College as well as others such as roads and streets. I decided to post this marker today, because this is the anniversary of Lord Fairfax's death at Greenway Court 230 years ago on December 9, 1781.