Green Spring Farm Part 3

[42] Annual Report of the President and Directors of the Board of Public Works to the General a.s.sembly of Virginia, Richmond, 1818, p. 34; 1819, p. 33; 1820, p. 76.

[43] Fairfax County Deed Book H-3, p. 226, May 28, 1843.

[44] Fairfax County Deed Book W-3, pp. 424-425, September 10, 1855.

[45] Hannah C. O'Brien v. John W. Green, et. al., Fairfax County, Virginia County Court, Suspended File No. 10, 1878.

II. ORCHARD AND DAIRY: FOUNTAIN BEATTIE (1878-1917)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA'S AGRICULTURE IN THE 1870'S. By 1870, Virginia farmers were beginning to recover from the recent war which had completely disrupted normal agricultural activity. The effects of the war had been felt keenly in Northern Virginia where the conflict had not been marked by many of the major battles but had nevertheless afflicted the area with four years of constant raiding and skirmishing. The resultant toll of horses, mules, cattle, and livestock and the dearth of farm machinery were major handicaps facing the farmer, as were his lack of capital with which to purchase supplies and equipment from outside his area and the general shortage of labor.[46] These shortages were overcome slowly. Some materials for beginning to rebuild the war damage were readily available from military supplies immediately after the close of hostilities; and, in this respect, Northern Virginia was fortunate to be within a few miles of the Union Army supply depots in Alexandria and Washington, D.C. But, as the confused era of reconstruction set in, the farmer was thrown mainly on his own resources of land and labor to rebuild his fortunes.

Poor as his prospects might seem to be, the Northern Virginia farmer had certain advantages that farmers in other parts of the state lacked. The farmland was by no means barren or exhausted, although it had been worked steadily during the previous decade when all efforts turned to producing the maximum amount of food for subsistence and no thought could be given to maintaining or enhancing the fertility of the soil.[47] Also, Fairfax County farmers had relatively easy access to the produce markets of Washington and Baltimore, both by water and overland transportation.[48]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 4. Hopkins' Atlas Map, 1879.]

Moreover, agriculture in Northern Virginia had not been dominated by the plantation system since the mid-eighteenth century. By 1870, even the great landholdings which had been carved out of the original proprietary grants had given way to a third generation of farms, still smaller in size and more diversified. While the owners of these Northern Virginia farms had, in many instances, owned slaves before the war, their dependence on this source of labor was not as critical as in other parts of Virginia--notably, the regions where tobacco was king. Thus, when the "great political convulsion which culminated in the disruption of the labor system of the State"[49] compelled Southern farmers generally to rebuild their system with different forms of labor and land tenure, Fairfax County farmers found themselves able to adjust to the new circ.u.mstances with relative ease once they were able to acquire tools and livestock. At this time, as before the war, they benefited greatly from the presence among them of a group of thrifty and industrious farm families who migrated from New York and New Jersey, bringing with them new energy, new capital, and new methods of farming from the diversified agricultural regions of the North.[50]

In addition, there was abroad in Virginia in 1870 a strong spirit for revival of its agriculture, looking not only to securing the advantages which scientific husbandry could bring through restored fertility of the soil but also to realization of the Jeffersonian dream of a strong, stable, and independent cla.s.s of American yeomanry owning and working its own land.[51] Soon after the commencement of reconstruction, organizations patterned after the various scientific farming societies of the 1830's began to appear and agricultural newspapers, such as _The Southern Farmer_, resumed publication and circulation in Northern Virginia. These two sources called strongly for Virginia farmers to change their traditional ways of farming for modern methods and modern farm implements.[52] As the 1870's advanced, these sources were joined by the State Government, which provided a certain amount of a.s.sistance for modernization of Virginia agriculture.[53]

MOSBY'S LIEUTENANT. It was in this setting that Fountain Beattie became the owner of Green Spring Farm in June 1878 when he purchased the 339-acre tract through a commissioner's deed approved by the County Court.[54]

Fountain Beattie was the son of Colonel Robert Beattie and Pauline White Beattie of Chilhowie in Washington County, Virginia. In 1861, he enlisted in the First Virginia Cavalry at Abingdon and there made the acquaintance of John S. Mosby. They became good friends, and when Mosby received his separate command, he took Beattie with him.[55]

During the next three years, Beattie rode with Mosby in campaigns that crossed and recrossed Northern Virginia.[56]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 5. c. 1885, Fountain Beattie and Annie Hathaway Beattie.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Mosby and Beattie Families, c. 1890]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Old Stone Spring House]

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Lane to Green Spring Farm]

Whether Fountain Beattie saw or visited Green Spring Farm during these rides with Mosby's battalion is not certain. There is reason to think he may have been in the neighborhood because of references to engagements at such places as "Billy Gooding's tavern on the Little River Turnpike, 10 miles from Alexandria."[57] Moreover, he may have heard of the farm from one of the descendants of its owners, since on one occasion he escaped imminent disaster only through the intervention of one Thomas Moss of Alexandria.[58]

Be that as it may, the region must have made a strong impression on him because, after moving several times in the years following the war, it was in Fairfax County that Fountain Beattie and his family finally settled. Money for the purchase of Green Spring Farm in 1878 came from Mrs. Beattie's inheritance following the sale of "Western View," the homestead of her deceased parents, located in Fauquier County.[59] At that time, Green Spring Farm was available for purchase through the County Court, which had ordered it sold to satisfy the judgment for debt against Matthew O'Brien.[60]

ORCHARD AND DAIRY. Fountain Beattie's selection of Green Spring Farm appears to have been made with an eye to its proximity to the Little River Turnpike and the old Columbia Turnpike (now Route 712).

Increasingly, the farmers of the Piedmont region of Virginia were feeling the compet.i.tion of farmers in the Shenandoah Valley and outside the state in the production of wheat and corn. This compet.i.tion was made possible when railroads connected the Valley of Virginia and the farmlands of the great midwestern prairie states with the markets of the eastern cities. Farmers in the middle and Northern Virginia no longer enjoyed the advantages they once had in shipping wheat and corn to these markets.[61] More and more in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Northern Virginia farmers planted corn, wheat, and other grains for use as livestock feed rather than sale in the grain market.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 6. John Singleton Mosby.]

Like many other Fairfax County farmers, Fountain Beattie found that he was better off to abandon diversified farming in favor of crops with respect to which he still enjoyed natural advantages. Thus, during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Green Spring Farm is identified with dairy products and orchard and garden produce--all commodities which had to be marketed the same day they were produced or picked or which could be made into derivative products which could be easily transported to market and sold at prices which reflected value added by processing. Transportation, however, was a key factor.

Virginia's country roads were publicly acknowledged to be in a "lamentable condition," and over even the best of them travel often was impossible in wet seasons of the year.[62] In this respect, the Little River Turnpike was one of the best of Virginia's rural roads, having been laid out and constructed by professional engineers and maintained by hired labor with even more care and regularity than the public roads. In Beattie's day, as in Moss's time, the turnpike was the main road between Alexandria and Fairfax, the county seat, and thence to the Valley.

All these considerations led Fountain Beattie to direct his main effort to expansion of the orchards and herd of dairy cattle as rapidly as it was feasible. Year around, the farm was a busy place, with work enough for all of the Beatties' 12 children--six boys and six girls--as well as their parents and hired hands. Daily ch.o.r.es, including milking and churning, went on all year, for the farm generally had numerous cows, horses, and mules. There was also a certain amount of grain to be raised each year for livestock feed, and a large vegetable garden. Fruit trees included pears, cherries, and apples in two 25-acre orchards--one located on each side of the Turnpike--which provided the princ.i.p.al produce of the farm. Farm produce was regularly marketed in Washington, Alexandria, and local grocery stores, as well as at a roadside stand during the harvest season.[63]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Reunion at Mana.s.sas: Colonel John S. Mosby visits Bull Run for the first time since the war. Pictured are (left to right) Fountain Beattie, Lycurgus Hutchison, John Mosby, and George Turberville.]

The markets of Washington were only about nine miles from Green Spring Farm, but on market days it was customary for the farm wagons of the neighborhood to be loaded and on the road well before dawn. The Washington city wholesale market opened at 3 A.M. each weekday, and farmers who came there sold directly from their wagons or from stalls to a milling crowd of brokers, wholesalers, retail grocers, hotelmen, and boardinghouse keepers. Most produce was sold by 7 A.M. and the farmer who did not sell out by that time generally had to sell at a sacrifice price or else remain in the market throughout the day, selling at retail to customers who attended the market later in the day.[64] With luck, therefore, the market produce farmer from Northern Virginia might expect to be on his way home by noon.

Not all of Fountain Beattie's orchard produce, however, went to the market in this way. The spring house on the farm contained presses, storage facilities, and other equipment needed to make apple cider, applejack, and apple and peach brandy. Apples picked in the ripening season were stored in large barrels until the fall and winter months, at which time they were made into fermented or distilled beverages.

According to his descendants, Beattie operated a licensed distillery and made brandies at the farm.

Beattie's livestock operations at the farm ended in tragedy one day when he returned home to find that his barn had caught fire and been completely destroyed. The contents of the barn, which included all of his livestock and much of the farm equipment, were also lost. Only the horse he was riding at the time remained to start rebuilding the farm.

As matters turned out, too much had been lost; Fountain Beattie never did more than acquire a few horses to perform the most necessary tasks. The dairy herds and field crops were never developed to the thriving level of activity which typified the 1880's and 1890's.[65]

POLITICS AND PUBLIC SERVICE. The close a.s.sociation of Fountain Beattie and John S. Mosby during the war years (1861-65) lasted through the years of peace that followed. The two men apparently thought alike in political matters; and, in the election of 1872, they campaigned for General Grant. Shortly afterward, Beattie was appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue for the Sixth District of Virginia.

Following Hayes' election as President, Mosby received an appointment as Consul in Hong Kong where he served until 1885.[66]

Fountain Beattie's record with the Internal Revenue Service shows that he served from 1875 to 1914 and suggests that he settled in or near Alexandria several years before he purchased Green Spring Farm.[67]

He was reappointed in 1885 following the brief return of the Democratic Party to power under Grover Cleveland's administration.

Beattie's official file in the Treasury Department's personnel records is a resume of basic statistics--dates of appointments, promotions, oaths of office, and salaries.

Although Northern Virginia seemed to be little affected by events on the national and world stage at this time, it was on the move in its own way. In Beattie's time this region became linked to other major regions by the coming of the Southern Railway system; and the advent of the high-speed electric commuter train and its network of tracks commenced the inexorable process of creating the interdependent economic unity of Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. These were also the years of "Jackson City" in Arlington, and the crusade of law enforcement aimed at cleaning up this center of gambling, drinking, and general sinfulness.[68]

For Fountain Beattie, these years of Federal service must have brought back memories of his war years with Mosby. Although he carried on his duties as tax collector from an office in the Alexandria Post Office, he continued to live at Green Spring Farm and he regularly traversed roads and places he had visited as a soldier. When Mosby returned from his tour as Consul in Hong Kong and became an attorney for the Justice Department, he and Beattie apparently saw a great deal of each other and their friendship extended to their families who also frequently exchanged visits. Beattie named one of his sons after his friend, and John Mosby Beattie recalls these times with feelings of fondness.

GREEN SPRING FARM AND ANNANDALE. When Beattie purchased Green Spring Farm, the activity on the farm was oriented toward the markets of Georgetown, Alexandria, Washington, and Baltimore. The community of Annandale, a little over two miles up the Little River Turnpike to the west, had not yet become a center of commerce. In 1879, the map showed a post office, a toll gate, a store, a Methodist church, and a few residences cl.u.s.tered at a crossroads.[69] This crossroads location became increasingly important during the last quarter of the nineteenth century; and, like other perceptive people of the area, Fountain Beattie and his family began to swing the orientation of their activities around from an exclusive focus on Alexandria and Washington to take part in the growth of Fairfax County.

At the turn of the century, Annandale had a population of 50 people.

In addition to the toll house, church, post office, and store, the community now could list a hardware store, lumberyard, blacksmith, farm machinery store, and sawmill.[70] The sawmill was owned by Beattie's son and namesake, Fountain Beattie, and presumably was operated as a family enterprise in the same manner as the farm.

II. ORCHARD AND DAIRY: FOUNTAIN BEATTIE (1878-1917)

[46] A. W. Moger, _The Rebuilding of the Old Dominion_ (New York: Columbia University, 1940), p. 46. Citing census data, the thesis notes that "the value of farm implements and machinery on farms in Virginia and West Virginia combined was only two-thirds of what it was in Virginia in 1860, while the value of livestock in the two states was only four-fifths of that in Virginia in 1860. Not until 1880 did the number of cattle and not until after the turn of the century did the number of swine in Virginia and West Virginia equal the number in the Old Dominion before the war."

[47] "Status of Virginia Agriculture in 1870," in _Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture_, 1870 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1871), pp. 267-291, 273, 291.

[48] Virginia Good Roads Convention, _Programme_ (Richmond: Stone Printing Co., 1894). While railroad and water transportation were available from Alexandria to major metropolitan markets for farm products, the farmer faced the obstacles of traversing Virginia's notoriously poor farm-to-market roads.

[49] _Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture_, 1870, p. 268.

[50] R. H. Abbott, "Yankee Farmers in Northern Virginia: 1840-1860,"

_Virginia Magazine of History and Biography_, v. 76, No. 1, pp. 56-66 (January 1968).

See also the _Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture_, 1870, p. 291, which states "a striking mark of progress is the change of the policy of the planters toward the outside world.

Formerly they were indisposed to encourage immigration from other States. There was, therefore, no accession to the population of the rural district from abroad. The same traditions and habits descended from father to son through successive generations. Now all this is altered. Strangers from every State and every country are cordially welcomed whenever they show any disposition to become permanent settlers and industrious citizens. The consequence is that in many counties a strong tide of immigration is setting in, bearing with it improved stock and better implements, which cannot fail to impart a healthy impulse to improvement."

[51] Moger, _Rebuilding_, p. 45. See remarks of Governor Henry Wise in 1867 and A. H. H. Stuart in 1866, cited therein.

[52] W. Fullerton, _Address to Piedmont Agricultural Society_, October 18, 1876. Speaking to the Society in 1867, William Fullerton of New York chided Virginians by a.s.serting that "there is no other calling in life in which there is manifested such an indifference to new discoveries, as is seen among the tillers of the soil. If a mechanic or manufacturer should in like manner fail to avail himself of improved implements or machinery, he would be compelled to relinquish his business. It is the farmer alone who resists anything new appertaining to his calling. This arises mainly from a deep-seated prejudice to what is called scientific or book farming."

See also Moger, _Rebuilding_, p. 54, citing the fact that farmers in the area of diversified agriculture, such as Northern Virginia, had the highest number of agricultural clubs, farm newspaper subscriptions, etc., of all areas in Virginia.