to historic White House Farm
in the Beautiful "Valley of Virginia"
February 5, 2008
Best
Websites
* Located in Summit Point, WV, about 1-1/2 hours west of Washington DC
* 1740: Farm established by Dr. John McCormick, Scots-Irish immigrant, on 395 acres
purchased from Jost Hite, a German land developer.
* 1742: Three-room stone farmhouse completed. A springhouse and barn were
built about the same time. Barn is the oldest standing barn in West Virginia
* 1752: Farm surveyed by George Washington at age 20 with the aid of McCormick's sons
* 1768: Bequeathed to son Andrew and operated by Andrew and wife as a tavern
* 1807: Farm purchased by John Locke whose brother George ran the tavern
* Listed #19790829 79002583 in the National Register of Historic Places
* A spring on the property has provided water to local citizens for over 200 years
Taylor in 1863, showing the
springhouse (foreground) and
a corner of the blacksmith shop
(far right) which attracted troops
from both the Confederate and
Union armies. From the James
Taylor Sketchbook, reproduced
with permission of the publisher,
the Western Reserve Historical
Society.
Friends of Happy Retreat
Jefferson County Historical Society
Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Ccomission
Jefferson County Museum
South Jefferson Public Library
Shepherdstown Museum
WV State Historic Preservation Office
Preservation Alliance of West Virginia
The Washingtons of Jefferson County
Jefferson County RootsWeb Project
A Peoples' History of Jefferson County
Berkeley County WV Rootsweb Project
Jefferson County Listener on the Web
February 24: Washington's Birthday Celebration. The White House was filled with an
abundance of conversation, laughter, music, and good cheer as over seventy historically-minded
guests celebrated the 266th birthday of our former neighbor, General George Washington (see
photos below).
Septembery 21: The Potomac Pedalers Touring Club of the Washington DC metropolitan area
once again hosted their 100 mile bicycle tour through Jefferson County WV and Clarke
County, VA, past many historic properties and districts. The springhouse meadow at
White House Farm was selected as the rest stop at Mile 27, where riders dismounted and
enjoyed sampling the food and drink and listening to Charlie Casabona, Jay Hurley (shown
below right) and Genevieve O'Laughlin play Celtic and colonial American folk songs. To see and
hear a clip of the rest stop happenings click here, or to hear and see Charlie's group play, click here
October: The roof at White House Farm received two coats of new paint thanks to the diligent
efforts of Ben Mauk and company, roof painters par excellence.
oldest standing barn in West Virginia,
was completed in January 2005. A
detailed description of the restoration
can be found by clicking our
barn restoration web page
For a similar narrative about our
2001 restoration of the springhouse
click here
small town of Summit Point, WV, about 6 miles from Charles Town.
For more about present-day Jefferson County please click here for a
detailed history of the county, click here and to visit the Jefferson
County Historical Society, click here. The farm's mailing address is
3735 Summit Point Road, Charles Town, WV, 25414.
As shown in the collection of pictures on this and the following
pages, the farm consists of a ca. 1742 farmhouse, a stone barn
and springhouse of about the same age, a wooden smokehouse,
and 60+ acres of pasture and woods. The farm has a rich history
as summarized beginning below and on the following pages.
On June 17, 1730, John and Isaac VanMeter petitioned
the Virginia Colony Council for 40,000 acres in the
Shenandoah Valley. In 1731 they transferred 30,000 acres
to Jost Hite, a German immigrant, under a patent. The land, then
located in Orange County, Virginia, (see 1734 map below) was
surveyed by Robert Brooke on 26 March 1734. In May 1740,
Mr. Hite sold 395 acres to Dr. John McCormick, a Scots-Irishman.
for 8 pounds, 5 shillings.
By 1742, Dr. McCormick had built a three-story, two-room
farmhouse. Dr. McCormick was a prosperous and prominent
country doctor, as evidenced by the inventory of his estate
completed upon his death in 1768. His will and the admini-
strations are found in the Frederick County archives in
Winchester, VA, since Frederick County was formed in 1743.
He and his wife Ann had 6 sons (James, Francis, John Jr., William,
George, and Andrew) and two daughters (Mary, wife of Magnus
Tate, and Jean, wife of James Byrn). James McCormick served
as the chain carrier and John Jr. as the pilot on several of
George Washington's surveys (1), White House Farm was
noted for the horses bred there during Dr. McCormick's lifetime.(2)
References:
(1) The George Washington Papers, Library of Congress
(2) Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, published
by the Virginia Historical Society
Acknowledgement: Ann Shoemaker, Andrew McCormick's great-
great-great-great-grand-daughter contributed information to this
history.
Note: Dr. McCormick's grandson, Province, whose father was Francis
McCormick, established a nearby farm known as Lang Sine in
the 1790's, which is presently being restored by the owners and is
described on their web site: http://langsinefarm.com
House and stone addition.
May approximate original
appearance of White
House Farm
on a number of web
pages which follow.
Just click on each of the
"Next" Buttons to
follow the history from
1742 to the present.
Webmeister by clicking: cmasonwhf@aol.com