I learned this at a very early age. For years I walked with my Dad and I loved that time because we never had to talk, we just enjoyed walking together. And when I walked alone, I found it just as satisfying.
During the 1960s and '70s, the beach between our spot near Chatterton's Landing (what we called then – Burroughs Beach) and Fairview beach was probably about four miles, give or take a few.
Walking the beach was leisurely – looking for shark's teeth, looking at the sand by the water and near the edge of the short bluffs or forest where the best driftwood could be found.
In those days my walks were wonderful fodder for the imagination. It was deathly quiet except for the soft lapping sounds the water made at the shore line and the occasional motor boat on the river. As we drew away from Burroughs Beach, we encountered few homes and more forests and, in some cases, a few bamboo groves. Those would be quiet, dark and spooky – much like the old abandoned WWI boat and the old Chatterton farmhouse were.
It was always just a hair cooler along that stretch of beach and you never quite dared to stare too hard at those bamboo trees or you thought you might see something you didn't want to see. There was a lot of history in those woods and once in a great while I'd find an Indian arrowhead just sticking out of the sand.
During the mid-1970s as the river reached its peak of green slime, the pristine sandy beaches were replaced with soda cans, plastic 6-pack holders, buckets, ropes and other debris that did not belong anywhere but a wastebasket. The beautiful pier I swam off of had begun to decay. The owners of the property had grown older and not kept up the care. No one cared to come to the beach because the river was so polluted.
However, it has now been restored and it's quite clean now. There are homes scattered along the Potomac's shores – those lucky folks have the view on a daily basis that I once loved so much.
I have always loved the area and longed to know the history. A few years ago, the daughter of the woman we rented our cabin from shared the history of the property with me – and it was astounding.
The area of the Potomac River was known for as a tributary for commerce, especially for early settlers and indians. For the first 40 years after Jamestown was settled, things were rather quiet along the Potomac River, until settlers began moving in due to land grants – pushing the indians out of the area.
The property known as Chatterton was granted to William Parry on Nov. 11, 1651 by colonial governor Sir William Berkely. This first grant was for 550 acres, and is known as the first occupied ground recorded in this section of Virginia. The amount of 550 acres represents 50 acres for 11 new settlers brought into Virginia.
Parry apparently did nothing with this land and on June 8, 1654, he sold it to Thomas Coniers, who turned and sold the land to Peter Ashton on March 13, 1657. Ashton is often believed to be the first to receive the grant, however, papers uncovered by mid-20th century owner of Chatterton, Frank Brooks Bielaski, proved otherwise. Bielaski had actually obtained a copy of the original patent of Parry's, which named the 11 families whom he had brought into Virginia.
After Ashton bought the property, he received an additional grant of 2,000 acres for bringing 40 new colonists to Virginia. The property by then resembled a squat "T" shape, with the long pole of the "T" reaching the riverbanks representing the 550 acres and the top of the "T" as the 2,000 acres. At that time it included all of Marmion, Osso and "farms contiguous."
At the time of Ashton's purchase, he named his parcel of land and the home he built there "Chatterton" after his home in England. This name has survived for over 300 years.
After Ashton's death, the ownership was retained in England until 1737 and it came into possession of John Tayloe I. Ten years later, when Tayloe had died – Chatterton had become so developed that 21 slaves were living on the property. After his death, John Tayloe II inherited the property and it is believed the original brick house was built during Tayloe II's occupancy or just prior to that by his father.
Bielaski surmised that John Tayloe I built Chatterton because as elaborate as the house was, John Tayloe II was far richer than his father and would have built a much fancier home than what survives today.
Previous accounts said that Thacker Washington built the present house in 1830 and that he used 40,000 bricks, which is inaccurate. Bielaski's research showed that that amount of bricks is only sufficient enough to build part of the south wall of Chatterton, which was constructed to enclose the two galleries. Bielaski estimated that approximately 250,000 bricks were used in the building of Chatterton.
The manor house is a 14 room home of Georgian style architecture. It's four rooms and a hall wide, but only one room deep at the time Bielaski owned it.
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| Chatterton manor house in King George County in 2003 - note the beautiful sweeping land leading from the house and sloping down to near the Potomac River. |
Chatterton remained in the Tayloe family for 57 years (1737-1794), when it was sold to a cousin, John Tayloe Thornton, and then his sons occupied the property from 1797-Jan. 7, 1829, after which it was then conveyed to Henry Thacker Washington.
Washington made some changes to the house and lived at Chatterton with his wife, Virginia Grymes of Eagles Nest, and their children until 1850 when the house was sold back into the Tayloe family.
By 1884, Chatterton was divided into four parts and returned to the Tayloe children: Lucy, Catherine, Maria and Forrest. The manor house and 50 acres was one part, the farmhouse by the river and 150 acres was another part. These two parts were eventually combined to the 200 acres that was Chatterton at the time Bielaski and then Ilona Massey and General Dawson owned the house. Bielaski had bought the house in 1945.
The original 2,000 acres had been divided up over the years. Descendants of Forrest Tayloe,which included the aforementioned (in an earlier blog) Charlottie Tayloe Burroughs and Lucy Daingerfield Linton, owned a lot of the remaining property, some of which was sold to Lee and Earlene Bizzell, at the river, with their home and property named "Dunroamin." Lucy (known affectionately as Dee) inherited the cabin property from Charlottie and her children inherited much of the rest of the river property after her death.
The old farmhouse down by the river, which was close to the abandoned boat, is long gone and replaced by large, stately homes.
The large estate known as Morland, which was west of Chatterton, was sold to Charlottie and Dee's oldest sister, Margarita Tayloe and her husband. I was unable to determine who owns it at this time.
The Tayloe family has a long tidewater history that includes ancestry ties to the Washington, Fitzhugh, Grymes and Lewis families. Additionally, Ilona Massey wasn't the only celebrity with whom they came in contact. When Dee Tayloe Linton was a young girl, her mother hired Georgia O'Keefe as a governess for her daughters. This was, of course, long before O'Keefe became famous as an artist. She didn't last long, however, as family legend says that Dee's mother didn't feel O'Keefe was a good influence on her girls.
One can only imagine the 300+ year history of this land – the many people who inhabited it, even back to include the original occupants – the indians. Consider too the families, the commerce that came and went, the political aspirations this area brought, the two major wars fought in this area – Revolutionary and Civil; even the devastating fire, sinking and loss of life of the Wawaset steamboat. So much history took place along these shores that the very land breathes it.
Thank you to everyone for your positive comments regarding my memories of Virginia. I've enjoyed the comments and even the resolution to long unanswered questions.
This is the last Virginia blog for awhile, though my history blog will continue – next might be the notorious Jesse James (did you know I am a James family historian and on the Friends of the James Farm board of directors?) or some of the local Missouri history, known as Little Dixie. Feel free to bookmark my blog as I will honor the rules of this Facebook page and not post blogs that are not about Fredericksburg on here. Blessings!
(lightpathforme.blogspot.com)
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