Mount Bleak
Background History of the Property of Mt. Bleak
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Background History of the Property of Mt. Bleak
The following information was provided by Llyod Reitnauer, former Park
Historian, Sky Meadows State Park, Virginia Department of Conserva-
tion and Recreation.
The farm and estate known as “Mount Bleak” was originally part of
Lord Fairfax’s extensive grant, which was given to him by the King
of England in the early 1600’s. The first English settler in this Pied-
mont area was, James Ball, who was given a grant in then Prince
William County near the George Washington and Landon Carter
grants near Ashby’s Bent (Gap). George Washington’s mother was
a first cousin to James Ball. James Ball of Lancaster left 5,000 acres
to his daughter and four grandsons. On March 17, 1780 Capt. James
Ball and his wife, Mary, and Winder Kenner and his wife, Molly,
(Capt. Ball’s daughter), sold 1,000 acres to John Edmonds for 600
pounds. John was born in Northumberland County, Va., on August
20, 1737. In 1741 he moved to Fauquier County with his mother,
Catherine, his grandfather Elaes and his half-brothers Elias and
William. John also became a Captain during the American Revolu-
tion with the Culpeper Battalion. He twice married, first to Francis
Jane Wilder and then to Helen Shepard Hack, who was a noted Eng-
lish actress. John Edmonds eventually had six children, George, Elias,
Ann, William, Peggy and John II. Not much is recorded of his act-
ivities, except that during his 61 years he had accrued 53 slaves, and
considerable land holdings including the acreage that includes Mount
Bleak. John was a very prosperous gentleman as he lived on the Ball
tract that is known today as Belle Grove. The extensive clearing of
fields and fence building may have started with John’s available labor
and capital.
When John Edmonds died August 28, 1798, the provisions of his will
stated that his moveable goods were to be sold and divided among his
wife and children. One of his sons, George Edmonds, received his
share of 250 acres on the ridge where Mt. Bleak stands, and three
slaves. George and his wife Mary Sofia Rust of Loudon County set
up housekeeping and began farming. They were married on March 9,
1798. Speculation is that his father may have given him the farm as a
wedding gift because he died only 5 months later. George and Mary
also acquired a number of lots in the town of Paris as well. By 1802
George was acquainted with Isaac Settle who had purchased a lot at
the western end of Paris and built a house and tavern.
Isaac Settle was born at Canterbury Farm near the present Fauquier
Springs Country Club in 1779. After settling in Paris, Isaac bought
several more lots over a period of years. In 1804 he married Mary
Humphrey. Isaac had a tavern that was an extension of his home. His
daughter, Elizabeth, known as Betsey, was born in June of 1806. On
January 29, 1808 one day after his son Thomas was born, Isaac pur-
chased 350 acres, that included the Elias Edmonds’ home at Belle
Grove. Isaac’s youngest son, Abner Humphrey Settle, born April 9,
1810, was named after his maternal grandfather. That same Decem-
ber, Isaac purchased 171 acres from George Edmonds which included
the homestead of Mount Bleak. This property may have been of par-
ticular interest to Isaac because of its bordering trail along the base
of the ridge that led from Paris to Markham. When Isaac incorporated
the original Edmonds’ home at Belle Grove it consisted of a slave
quarters and kitchen wing. A tin plate above the front door of the
main house is engraved with the year, “1812”.
Elizabeth (Betsy) Settle, Abner’s sister, married Lewis Edmonds a
nephew of George Edmonds, on Nov. 10, 1825. Family tradition
said that Belle Grove was given to Betsy and Lewis as a wedding
present. Isaac and the rest of the family had just recently moved
back to Paris, where Isaac was a respected and successful business
man. He was merchant, as well as a tavern keeper and postmaster
for over 30 years. His mercantile store was a combined grocery,
hardware, clothing and feed store, which also housed the post office
and served as a polling place during elections. Public notices were
said to be posted outside . The store and tavern were common places
for people to congregate for news from Winchester, Falmouth, War-
renton or Alexandria, to discuss politics, community affairs or gossip.
Isaac’s son, Thomas, lived in Virginia until 1836 when he decided
to move to St Louis. He spent his live there as a merchant, foundry
owner, builder and cotton planter.
Abner Settle initially married Isabella S Hixon of Loudon County
on April 13, 1835. Their first and only child was born in 1836. Unfor-
tunately, Isabella died five months later. This child, Thomas Lee, was
named after Abner’s brother. Abner then remarried in 1839 to his sec-
ond wife Mary Ann Kyle, with whom he had 11 children. The Settles
were said to have been of small stature with dark hair and eyes.
Abner became a gentlemen farmer with slaves that included those
who worked in the house and those that were field hands. Not only
was he a respected farmer but a merchant as well. He often acted as
an officer of the court and served as trustee for his family and neigh-
bors mortgages that were liens on their personal debts.
Abner also lent a hand at his father’s Paris post office. When his
father, Isaac passed away Abner then took over the position of post
master that his father had once held. Abner was said to have had a
reputation as a philosopher and poet and was often called upon to
speak at public meetings. A poem he had written about a lovely pop-
lar tree that was a landmark in Ashby’s Gap was published in the
Fauquier newspaper.
After the Civil War, Abner sold Mt. Bleak to Thomas and Emily
Glasscock. In two years the Glascock’s the sold the farm to George
Slater. George Slater and his son farmed Mt Bleak for about 60 years.
In 1916, George Jr., purchased the farm just to the north named Tim-
berlake. Both George and his son died in 1922 and the his son’s fam-
ily was left overextended financially. George Jr.’s wife and relatives
tried to make a go of farming the land and make payments for 3 ½
years. Early twentieth century county maps have the property listed
as the Slater Farm.
In 1928 George Strother purchased both Mt Bleak and Timberlake
property. In a deed of trust he signed over the property to Prudential
Insurance Co. When George Strother died the properties were put
up for public auction.
At this point,Thomas and Mary Glasscock purchased the property and
tried farming it for 8 years. They then sold the 365 acres (Mt Bleak
property) to Virginia Wood who owned the property from 1942 to
1946. Ms. Wood never lived at Mt Bleak but she purchased the pro-
perty for a relative Lindsay Wood who was the wife of Sir Robert
Hadow, who was a British Counsel General during WWII . The
Hadow’s changed the name to Skye Farm because Mr Hadow
thought the area looked like his homeland of the Isle of Skye in
Scotland. After WWII the Hadow’s sold Skye farms to General
Raymond Lee. General Lee, however, believed the farm reminded
him of St. Brandan’s in England so they renamed the farm St. Bran-
dan’s. The Lee’s had electricity and telephone service brought into
the home. Within two years the Lee’s sold the farm to John and
Carolyn Scott. At this time the property was said to be in bad shape
for the fields had been over grown and buildings were in need of great
repair. Mt Scott arrived in the area when he became President Franklin
D. Roosevelt’s appointee as Special Assistant to the Attorney General,
and then later was appointed a Federal Power Commissioner.
The Scott’s decided to rename the farm, Sky Meadows. The Scott’s
improved the land by mowing, liming, fertilizing and seeding the old
pastures. They also built two new ponds, established a new water sys-
tem and refurbished, repaired and redirected the houses. The guest
house was enlarged and the barns were improved and new fencing
was built around the meadows.
In 1963 the Scott’s sold Sky Meadows to James Abrams. On July 2,
1963 Mr. Abrams and Raymond Bates formed a partnership with land
holdings that included Mt. Airy, Grafton, Ponderosa and other estates
in northern Fauquier County. Eventually the corporation would decide
to subdivide Sky Meadows. But the land speculation never matured
because of the affects of the oil crisis in the 1970’s.
At this point, Mr. Paul Mellon initially purchased the Sky Meadow’s
farm and on November 12, 1975 he deeded the property to the Vir-
ginia State Department of Conservation with the directive that it be
dedicated as a state park. Two more subsequent purchases by Mr.
Mellon added additional acreage to the park.
The park was officially opened for the enjoyment of the public on
August 23, 1983.
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