Whiskey Hill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Whiskey Hill
|
|
|
U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
|
 |
|
| NRHP reference No. | 05000474 |
|---|---|
| Added to NRHP | May 26, 2005 (Taylorstown HD expansion) |
Whiskey Hill is a historic house located in Taylorstown, Virginia. This old home became a special part of the Taylorstown Historic District in 2004. It was added along with other nearby buildings because of its important history.
The house started as a small log cabin around the early 1800s. It sits on a hill with a view of Catoctin Creek and the small town of Taylor Town in northern Loudoun County, Virginia. For many years, the cabin was owned by families who made spirits, and it has been expanded several times since then. Its current owner gave it the name Whiskey Hill.
Contents
Early History of Whiskey Hill (1700s)
In 2004, experts from Mount Vernon visited Whiskey Hill. They were studying old buildings for the reconstruction of George Washington's distillery. They confirmed that the house was built in the late 1700s. Even though no signs of a distillery are left, there is a spring on the property with stone walls. These walls are like those found in a spring house, which was used for storage. Some relatives of past owners said they weren't allowed into the lowest part of the spring house, where spirits were supposedly kept.
In the early 1790s, the land where the cabin stands belonged to two English brothers, Charles and Henry Astley Bennett. They never actually visited the land themselves. Their father had bought the land from John Colvill, who once owned a very large area of land, about 44,000 acres (178 square kilometers).
In 1792, the Bennett brothers sold 61 acres (24.7 hectares) of this land to Joseph and Henry Taylor. These two were sons of Thomas Taylor, who owned 300 acres (1.2 square kilometers) on the other side of Catoctin Creek. Thomas Taylor also built a mill there, and both the area and the mill were named after him. Five years later, Henry Taylor bought out his brother Joseph's share of the land for 77 pounds, which was a lot of money back then.
Life in the 1800s at Whiskey Hill
Henry Taylor passed away in 1812, but it took 17 years for his property to be fully settled. It seems that his cabin on the west side of Catoctin Creek was rented out for some time. A tenant named Andrew Collins is mentioned in a document from 1819, which is the first time the house now called Whiskey Hill appears in written records. By 1829, Jacob Carnes was living there, and Henry Taylor's family officially sold it to him in 1832. The Carnes family would own the house until 1962.
When Henry Taylor's belongings were listed after his death, they included two stills (large containers used for making spirits), one holding 60 US gallons (227 liters) and another 110 US gallons (416 liters). Also listed were a wheat fan (used to clean grain), oats, barrels, funnels, and 12 barrels (1.9 cubic meters) of barley. All these items were important for making beer, ale, and whiskey.
In the early 1800s, two of the most important cash crops sent from the Piedmont area to the Tidewater region were wheat flour and whiskey. Since storing food was difficult back then, any extra crops could be turned into whiskey and then used as money. The operation on the hill overlooking Catoctin Creek was a good spot for making spirits and sending them to market using Catoctin Creek and the Potomac River.
After Jacob Carnes passed away, his son Samuel took ownership of the property. In 1851, tax records showed the Carnes property, including its other buildings, was worth $500. In 1856, records show the Carnes family had livestock, like 10 cattle and one horse. They also all owned watches. This suggests they might have been involved in trades or worked as merchants.
In 1860, Abram E. Carnes (possibly Samuel's son) was the only adult white man listed as living on the property. Women and children were not taxed, and Carnes did not own slaves. His 19.75 acres (8 hectares) of land were valued at $45 an acre. He owned a $20 watch, his furniture was worth $35, and the house itself was worth $500. He likely worked as a merchant.
Whiskey Hill in the 1900s
By 1920, tax descriptions of the house started calling it "Near Taylorstown" instead of "near Catoctin Creek." The value of the Carnes land dropped to $24 an acre. This might have happened because non-flat land became less valuable as farmers started using machines like tractors, which work better on flat land.
Abram Carnes died in 1908, but the property remained part of his estate until at least 1936. His son, Charles R. Carnes, then took ownership of the house and lived there until he died in 1937. Charles's estate included investments in countries like Brazil, Poland, and Bolivia. This showed he had more money than a typical merchant or farmer of that time.
Ownership of the house then went to Charles's half-brother, Edgar, by 1938. Edgar sold off two parts of the property by 1944, when the rest was valued at $974. The parts he sold might have had buildings that were left over from the old spirit-making operation. By this time, new government rules made it unlikely that any distilling was still happening. Edgar worked as a painter.
By 1950, Edgar had only 6.875 acres (2.78 hectares) of land left after selling several small pieces. The value of his property dropped from $974 to $660 and stayed around that amount until at least 1959. In 1962, Edgar and his wife, Sarah, sold the house and property to Alonza B. West and Colleen Gile West for $3,000.
Brad and Lynn Curl bought the home in 1980. They added modern features like indoor plumbing and a kitchen.
Whiskey Hill in the 21st Century
Richard Weaver bought the house in December 2003 and later named it Whiskey Hill. Since then, the house has been fully updated and restored. A new part of the house, including a library, was finished in January 2009.
Images for kids
-
Whiskey Hill house
