Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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U U ' - ' U U ' - ' u u k] Dz, c£] tL[i=n [L cD tUin Dd cD gJ kiGrnJoJ klticJDJ Spotswood presented each gentleman of his party with a miniature horseshoe, set with precious stones to represent the nails. The story goes that the Gov- ernor had asked the king to give these little mementoes to his men, but that His Majesty refused, sending only one, very handsomely jeweled, to His Excel- lency, the Lieutenant-Governor, and so the latter had to pay for his own souvenirs. Q, At this time, William and Mary College paid each year, on the fifth of November, two copies of Latin verse to the Governor as rent for their lands. That year, the praises of the Ultra-montane Expedition were written by Rev- erend Arthur Blackamore, Professor of the Grammar or Classic School, and were presented to Spotswood. G, During his administration, Spotswood did much for Williamsburg in almost every way. When he began his administration, there was one long street with the College at one end and the Capitol at the other. This thorough- fare was very rough and had several bad ditches in it. These the Governor had filled and the way made smoother. He also helped Blair collect money to rebuild the College, and at his death he left to this great institution his books and his mathematical instruments. Q, Spotswood was largely responsible for the grace and beauty of Bruton Parish Church. The old church had become too small to hold the crowds that were constantly in Williamsburg on account of the Burgesses, the Council and the Court all holding their meetings there. Blair presented to the people a plan of the church, as it now stands, which Spotswood had given. And the Governor, with the aid of Mr. Edmund Jenings, promised to give the bricks at fifteen shillings per thousand, when they saw that the contractors would probably take advantage of the people. They volunteered this aid on condi- tion that the people should do the rest. The church, that has lately been re- stored with all its strength and beauty of line, was built according to Spots- wood ' s plans. Q, During Spotswood ' s last year of administration, Williamsburg was made a city incorporate by the Colonial Council. John Holloway was the first mayor; John Clayton the first recorder; John Randolph, John Custis, James Bray, Archibald Blair, William Robertson and Thomas Jones the first alder- men. O, Spotswood had long been interested in making Virginia a vine-growing country. Through his working and under his care, a colony of German Prot- estants settled on the Rapidan, near where his home was later on, and started in the vine culture. This culture never grew into a large source of wealth to the Virginians, but some of the wines that Spotswood had with him on his Ultra-montane Expedition were made there on the Rapidan by his German LDDzicacJ .r£] Dn cD []=. Ln n-, r l r-l I Lq .zDticDt. ba[]=..d]Qj LoDzxratL u u-- LatcDt LoDzicDt =aCbc£]Dr pP D= (=3pq]CF k]lit£lD=

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£]t) CP P £lt) £:Cb P P £lfc =ap fit P Jt P P £][b P P [ cDdJ r Lr nJLn r Lr TJi-n S]Cn cDdJ L nH rJ I Ln n rJI r n- ' LrnJ ' -r .£] find a way to connect the forts of the Enghsh in the north with those of Vir- ginia, and to see if Lake Erie was accessible from there. Some statements of the Indians had led him to believe this last. Blair heartily agreed with him in his plan of crossing the Ridge, which was then considered as a dangerous undertaking. Q, So one day in August, a party of the finest Virginia gentlemen set out from Williamsburg with the Governor in his coach. In this they traveled to his home at Germanna. Here the party was joined by the rangers, servants and pack-horses, and from here they proceeded on horseback. The journey was not made hurriedly. Each night they pitched camp at some comfortable spot and each time named it after a member of the cavalcade. They also had a long rest during the heat of the day, stopping to drink the many differ- ent wines — Burgundy, champagne and those brewed at Germanna by the settlement of German Protestants under Spotswood ' s care — and to eat the bountiful game and fish which they daily shot and caught, and to rest in the shade of the abundant trees along the way. All through this region game was very abundant, and the streams were full of fish. These lands were used by the Indians as hunting-grounds, but not as permanent settlements. Spots- wood saw no Indians on this trip, and this fact was used as a great inducement for settling the Valley. Q, In about twenty-six days after leaving Williamsburg, Spotswood and his cavalcade reached the summit of the Ridge, making the ascension near Swift Run Gap. They descended the other side, and having forded the Shen- andoah, they took possession of the land with great formality in the name of George I, King of England! After the usual drinking of healths in the dif- ferent wines, Spotswood buried a bottle in the bank of the river, which con- tained a slip of paper saying that the land had been taken by himself in the name of the king. This bottle is supposed to be still undiscovered. Q, Here they rested a while, and after having named the highest peak Mount George and the next highest Mount Spotswood, according to Fontaine, and Mount Alexander, according to Rev. Hugh Jones, the party returned to Williamsburg, having been away eight weeks, and having traveled in all four hundred and forty miles. Four years later, all the valley between Fredericksburg and the mountains was called Spotsylvania, in honor of the Lieutenant-Governor. Q It was from this trip that The Knights of the Golden Horseshoe came into existence. In the low, sandy plains very few of those articles had been used. But on a trip over the mountains, where the way would be rough, rocky and steep, it was necessary to protect the horses ' feet, so a large number of horseshoes were provided for the expedition. And on returning to the town. E [b La P P { la [P [b L3tid]d f p l LDDricDCb! p fcc£l P ' =D f=3P [n .£1 IF pip r=ap

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p-i Lr ' -lJ i-n P-JLr nJ Ld [b c£l cbLLLD Da cH u-i : t. i£l olib fc cQ tl = [pt=[]D=j at Jt[ □ tdol ap Cn ap i settlement. This colony has been described as consisting of about a baker ' s dozen of ruinous houses, which doesn ' t suggest that the colony was a pros- perous one. It was to this vicinity that Spotswood retired after his removal from office. Q Here it was that Colonel Byrd visited his old friend; often they sat in front of the huge open fire and recalled their experiences in war, talked of the Governor ' s iron works and vine culture. This is what Colonel Byrd himself wrote of part of one of their conversations: In the meantime I observ ' d my old Friend to be very Uxorious and exceedingly fond of his children. This was so opposite to the Maxims he us ' d to preach up before he was marryed, that I cou ' d not forbear rubbing up the Memory of them. But he gave a very good-natur ' d turn to his Change of Sentiments by alleging that whoever brings a poor Gentlewoman into so solitary a place, from all her Friends and Ac- quaintance, wou ' d be ungrateful not to use her and all that belongs to her with all possible Tenderness. From this we get a good picture of the honest and straightforward Governor in his home life, his tenderness for his children and loving care of hi s wife. G, To his home at Germanna Spotswood retired, after being the Lieutenant- Governor of Virginia for twelve years. Here he found iron ore on his land; and he at once set to work to build an iron foundry. He soon had not only one but four of these, and also an air furnace at Massaponnax, at which he made andirons, stovebacks and other useful articles. From the foundries he sent iron to England. He had a great interest in these works, and after his removal from office, he frequently rode around to inspect them. On account of this industry, he was called the Tubal Cain of Virginia. Q, But Spotswood ' s iron furnaces were not the first in Virginia. The very first were those built by the London Company at Falling Creek in 1619. These cost the Company one hundred thousand dollars and were under the care of John Berkeley. The iron which was turned out from these works was said to have been the best that existed in the world. Just before the Revolution, they belonged to Archibald Cary, but were destroyed by Tarleton during that war. Now all that remains of them is a ruined mill by the side of a pretty little fall. Q Still, there seems to be a difference of opinion concerning Spotswood ' s iron works. In Colonel Byrd ' s writings, he said that Spotswood corrected me a little there, by assuring me he was not only the first in this Country, but the first in North America, who had erected a regular Furnace. And Spots- wood told Colonel Byrd a great many things concerning his furnaces, his failures and successes, and he also promised to help the Colonel found his own furnace. r3P ' =nCn LfinzDcDczl LnticIliiJ =aP ' T]CF LfinncDt! =ap D= ticHn- =np ' =0[P rDtiiilDzl