Hope Park was an 18th and 19th-century
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
in
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...
in the U.S. state of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, where
Dr. David Stuart (1753–1814), an old friend of and correspondent with
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
lived with his wife, (Washington's former stepdaughter-in-law)
Eleanor Calvert Custis (1758–1811), and family.
It was approximately southwest of
Fairfax Court House (now known as the
independent city
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province).
Historical precursors
In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
of
Fairfax).
History
Payne family
The Hope Park plantation was founded in the 1750s by Edward Payne, a
justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
of the Fairfax County Court from 1764 to 1785 and builder of Payne's Church (completed in 1778).
Payne served with
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
and
George Mason
George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including ...
on the
Truro Parish
Truro Parish was the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Anglican church in colonial Virginia with jurisdiction originally over all of Fairfax County. The parish had its central church at the Truro Church and the parish was named for the parish in ...
vestry, and Washington occasionally visited the Paynes at Hope Park. Payne constructed a small grist mill, probably on Piney Branch which ran through the Hope Park property.
A mill would have been an important adjunct to the plantation.
[
]
Stuart family
Dr. David Stuart purchased Hope Park plantation in 1785, two years after marrying General Washington's widowed daughter-in-law described below. Stuart was an Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and planter who served several terms (part-time) as one of Fairfax County's representatives in the Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...
. On January 22, 1791, then President Washington appointed Dr. Stuart as the member representing Virginia on the first board of Commissioners of the Federal City, and he served for almost four years.[ By 1789, Stuart was one of the gentleman justices for the Fairfax County Court, normally a lifetime appointment. The ]Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
named Stuart a trustee by for the towns of Centreville in 1792 and Providence (later known as Fairfax Court House, and then Fairfax) in 1805,[ and he also served as a trustee of a school in Centreville.
In 1783, Stuart married Eleanor Calvert Custis, the young widow of ]John Parke Custis
John Parke Custis (November 27, 1754 – November 5, 1781) was an American planter. He was a son of Martha Washington and stepson of George Washington.
Childhood
A son of Daniel Parke Custis, a wealthy planter with nearly three hundred enslave ...
and thus daughter-in-law of Martha Washington
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...
and stepdaughter-in-law of George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
. Until relocating to Hope Park sometime between 1791 and 1793, the couple resided at Custis's Abingdon plantation overlooking the Potomac River. Estates along major waterways found transport and communication easier than those in the interior of Fairfax County such as Hope Park, so the Stuarts initially lived at Custis' Abington plantation on the Potomac River (on on the grounds of Ronald Reagan National Airport
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...
), before moving to Hope Park.[ The Stuarts regularly received George and Martha Washington as guests at Abingdon as well as at Hope Park plantation, and were frequent guests at Mount Vernon.][ Because of the close relationship between the Stuart and Washington families, Hope Park is mentioned frequently in Washington's correspondences and diaries.][
While two Custis siblings, Eleanor Parke Custis and ]George Washington Parke Custis
George Washington Parke Custis (April 30, 1781 – October 10, 1857) was an American plantation owner, antiquarian, author, and playwright. His father John Parke Custis was the stepson of George Washington. He and his sister Eleanor grew u ...
, lived at Mount Vernon, Philadelphia, and New York with George and Martha Washington, they also visited their mother at Hope Park. Dr. Stuart handled the financial accounts of his stepchildren, and also raised his stepdaughters (President George Washington's step-granddaughters) Martha Parke Custis and Elizabeth Parke Custis, who both married at Hope Park. Martha Custis married Thomas Peter on January 6, 1795, and Elizabeth Custis married Thomas Law
Thomas John Law (born 17 December 1992) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor, playing Peter Beale in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 2006 to 2010. He was the fifth actor to reprise the role, followed by Ben H ...
on March 20, 1796.[ These elder Custis daughters moved to Hope Park and lived there with their mother, stepfather and many half-siblings.][ Peters was the son of a successful Georgetown merchant, and Law was the son of ]Edmund Law
Edmund Law (6 June 1703 – 14 August 1787) was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge from 1764 to 1769, and as bishop of Carlisl ...
, Bishop of Carlisle, and the younger brother of Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough
Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough, (16 November 1750 – 13 December 1818), was an English judge. After serving as a member of parliament and Attorney General, he became Lord Chief Justice.
Early life
Law was born at Great Salkeld, in Cum ...
, George Henry Law
George Henry Law (12 September 1761 – 22 September 1845) was the Bishop of Chester (1812) and then, from 1824, Bishop of Bath and Wells.
Born at the lodge of Peterhouse, Cambridge, of which his father Edmund Law (who later became Bishop of ...
, later Bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.
The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...
, and John Law
John Law may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist
* John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner
* John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director
* John Law (musician) (born 1961) ...
, a Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...
bishop. The Custis/Law union was a short one and ended in divorce in 1806.
Most likely under Stuart's ownership and before the Stuart family relocated to Ossian Hall in 1804, a second mill and was constructed on the west bank of Piney Branch, as well as an adjacent miller
A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...
's house. Their precise dates of construction remain unknown, but in a sale notice in 1815 (a year after Dr. Stuart's death) it was advertised as being "in complete repair".[ Preservationist Russell Wright studied the mill in 1972 and believed it built circa 1800.][ Then known as "Hope Park Mill," it became a neighborhood mill, serving several nearby plantations in central Fairfax County.][
]
Barnes family and the American Civil War
The bulk of the Hope Park plantation property remained in Dr. Stuart's estate until December 1837 when John H. Barnes, Sr. purchased a 1,000-acre tract which included the mill and miller's house, but not the main Hope Park dwelling.[ Barnes purchased the main house and rest of the Hope Park plantation in February 1838.][ Barnes Sr.'s family became the first known occupants of the miller's house, and later moved into the main house.
After Barnes Sr. died, Hope Park plantation was broken into eight inheritance properties. His widow, Sarah Barnes, received the main Hope Park dwelling house with 194 acres which was referred to as the "Mansion House Tract." When the estate was settled in 1853, Barnes' eldest son Jack Barnes (i.e., John H. Barnes, Jr.) who had been trained as a miller and his wife, Mary Fox Barnes, received the mill and miller's house, which they occupied and called "Huntley."][ The remaining six children received other Hope Park plantation parcels.
While Hope Park plantation prospered under the Barnes family, so its slave population grew.][ In the 1840s, the Barnes family owned four slaves, seven in 1850, and 12 in 1860.][ The number of slaves owned by the Barnes family was relatively low in comparison to the slave workforces at neighboring Fairfax County plantations, perhaps because Barnes' sons also worked on the plantation.][
In June 1861, following Virginia's Secession Convention and affirmatory vote, John Barnes's three sons, including Jack (then 29 years old), traveled to Fairfax Court House and enlisted in the 17th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment, known as the "Fairfax Rifles."][ Two months later, Jack Barnes was captured and sent to the ]Old Capitol Prison
The Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C., served as the temporary Capitol of the United States from 1815 to 1819. The building was a private school, a boarding house, and, during the American Civil War, a prison known as the Old Capitol Priso ...
in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
(the first of his three Federal incarcerations).[
Barnes' widow Sarah, her four daughters, Jack Barnes' wife Mary, and their children and slaves evacuated both Hope Park and Huntley early in the conflict.][ They returned following the Confederate victory at the ]First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas , finding both the Hope Park and Huntley residences still standing, but obviously vandalized, presumably by Union soldiers.[
During the winter of 1861/1862, Confederate troops used Hope Park Mill as Post No. 3.][ Confederate forces vacated the Hope Park Mill in March 1862, as Union Army troops advanced into western Fairfax County to conduct ]foraging
Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...
and resupply operations against civilians.[ Union soldiers confiscated everything they could carry, including ]vegetables
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...
and pigs
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
.[ One of the confiscated pigs belonged to ten-year-old Nettie (Jack and Mary Barnes' daughter), who according to the Barnes family story, objected vociferously. Charles V. Mauro's ''The Civil War in Fairfax County: Civilians and Soldiers'' described its recovery:
]
Robey family
The mill at Hope Park prospered again around the turn of the 20th century under the ownership of Frank Robey.[ Hope Park Mill's commercial production ended when Robey died in 1916 brought an end to .][
]
Current status
Hope Park Mill and Miller's House (sometimes known collectively as "Robey's Mill" or "Piney Branch Mill"), along with a log smokehouse
A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is cured with smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more. , spring house
A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a spring. While the original purpose of a springhouse was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosing stru ...
, and cabin, are preserved.[ Hope Park's mill and adjacent ancillary buildings were listed as "Hope Park Mill and Miller's House" on the ]Virginia Landmarks Register
The Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) is a list of historic properties in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The state's official list of important historic sites, it was created in 1966. The Register serves the same purpose as the National Registe ...
on November 16, 1976, and on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on August 15, 1977.[ Hope Park Mill and Miller's House are located at 12124 Pope's Head Road, Fairfax, Virginia.][ At the time of the complex's listings in 1976 and 1977, the property was owned by Sally and David McGrath who also lived in the Miller's House.][ In 1980, Fairfax County created the Robey's Mill Historic Overlay District (HOD).]
The Hope Park mansion house and the mill were photographed by the Historic American Buildings Survey
Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
(HABS) in the 1930s. Detailed measured drawings of the mansion house were made in the 1930s, and of the mill in the 1970s; all can be viewed on the Library of Congress website. A plaque from the U.S. Department of the Interior commemorating this activity sits in the mansion house.
As of the time of this article's composition and subsequent to the Barnes' tenure, ownership of the Hope Park mansion house (and its fluctuating acreages due to sales or inheritances) has been held by, the Newmans, Zimmerman, the Mattinglys, the Flints, and the Warhursts. The Hope Park mansion house, as it has evolved over the years, remains in use as a private residence and shares a seven-acre lot with a grand modern home about a mile from the mill and miller's house. Until 1976 when the remaining 82-acre Hope Park "Mansion House Tract" was subdivided, the address of the mansion house was 11807 Pope's Head Road. It obtained a new address then when the old farm lane from Popes Head Road to the mansion house was named to accommodate the development.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hope Park
Fairfax County in the American Civil War
Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia
Houses in Fairfax County, Virginia
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Industrial buildings and structures in Virginia
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Fairfax County, Virginia
Plantations in Virginia
Custis family residences