1 a ;Titrtcted. / Fort Pleasant. - 9esng Csns~dered. 1 Renick Williams 1 ENTRY NUMBER. a Unoccup~ed. FCLASSIFICAT~ON -a. 'm Occup~ed.

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1 Form 10300!July 1969) UNTED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE NTEROR NATONAL PARK SERVCE NATONAL REGSTER OF HSTORC PLACES NVENTORY NOMNATON FORM (Type all entries complete applicable sections) STATE: ardy FOR NPS USE ONLY 1 ENTRY NUMBER DATE / Fort Pleasant AND/OR HSTORC CTY OR TOWN: 4 STATE Old Fields West Virginia /.. FCLASSFCAT~ON a CATEGORY (Check One) : 1 D~strlct Bulldlng $3 Publtc /C ~jte Structure ix1 Private 13 sot* Oblect i lpresent USE /Check One or \fore as Appropriate) (2nd. Congressional District) OWNERSHP COUNTY 54 Hardy STATUS 1 Agr,cultural J Government 3 Park 0 Transportatton Comments C Commerc~ol lnoustr~al a Prtvate Res~dence 3 Other (specify) 7 C Educottonol Mtltary J ;7eltg~ous ACCESSBLE / TO THE PUBLC 12 Enterta~nment Museum 7 Sc~ent~ftc 14. OWNER OF PROPERTY OYNER'S NAME s : 1 Renick Williams STREET AND NUMBER: CTY OR TOWN: Old Fields. [5. ~O?CAT~ONOF DESCRPTON LEGAL COURT9OUSE REGSTRY OF 3EEDS ETC. Hardy County Courthouse STREET AND YUMBER'. Publtc Acqu~s~tion: 5 n Process 1 a ;Titrtcted 'm Occup~ed a Unoccup~ed 0 Preservarton work in progress O NO esng Csns~dered 1 3 Unrestr~cted STATE: West Virginia 54 C r 'ii ' 09 P. a Moore field West Virginia 54 TTLE OF SURVEY: N EXSTNG SURVEYS Fair fax Grant Survey, made by George Washington (DATE OF SURVEY: 1/4930 C Federal State 3 County Local ~~p0sto.y FOR SURVEY RECORDS~L~ rary o on ress. am s ire oun y ourthouse, Romney, West Virginia; Virkinia S:aEe Erchi~e:, EiEhrnon:, V!rg?nia, STREET A'3 'UMBER:, P CTY OR TOWN: STATE:

2 7. DESCRlPf ON 1 (Chock One) CONDTON DESCRBE THE PRESENT AND ORGNAL (if known) PHYSCAL APPEARANCE C] Faar 0 Detorioratcd 0 Ru~ns a Unexposed Q Unaltered Moved (Chock One) Ortglnal Site The house is a massive doublechimney styled building made of brick from clay on the Fort Pleasant farm. The style of the house is severe Federal with the country touches that come from building with semiskilled help far from cityelegancies. The 18 remaining rooms are an architectural unit with the exception of the two room half basement halfhouse section of a much earlier date. The main house was complete by the end of the 18th century and the early use of a massive colonnade is distinctive. nspection of the front portico establishes its inclusion when the house was constructed. The interior is severely Federal. No ceiling cornices, but neat chair rails and wash boards, simply decorated door frames and magnificantly elegant Federal style mntels. The stair runs up three floors to the attic with a very plain Federal style bannister. The ceilings in the front section are 14 feet high, the large paned windows make the company rooms light and airy. Vnen the Renick Williams' family prchased the farm in 1969, the house had been alloved to decline. The old bachelor quarter had disappeared, and the rest of the house shoved the signs of age unrelieved by wealth. The Williams are being estracely careful in their restoration, and are proceeding at a slow pace because of the high cost of the initial repairs.

3 18. SGNFCANCE orecolumb~an 0 16th Century 3 18th Century 1 201h Century d C; 15th Century 3 17th Century 19th Century PEROD (Check One or >lore as Approprtelo) SPEC1 F C SA TElSl ill Applicable and Known) AREAS OF SGNFCANCE (Check One or.more as Appropriale) Abor,gin01 9 Education Political Urban Planntng C Prehistoric 0 Engineering :, Religion/ Phi. Other (Specify) 0 Historic 0 ndustry ~osophy Agriculture nvention cj Science a Architecture 0 Landscape C Sculpture a Art Arch! tecture C: Soctol 'Human 0 Commerce 0 Ltterature ltarlan Commun~cations M~litory C Theater 3 Conservot~on a H us~c J Tronsportatlon TATEMENT OF SGNFCANCE The present "Fort Pleasant" is built on the site of saac Vanmeter's home and fortress which were constructed of logs around The fort was one in a chain running north and south along the Allegheny frontier. These were designed by George Vashington for the protection of settlers during ndian unrest which reached a local climax in the years From the Fort Pleasant sanctuary men went out on mny occasions to attack and disperse threatening ndians. saac Vanmeter himself was killed by ndians while he was working in his fields in During his work as a surveyor for Lord Fairfax, George Washington called at Forc Pleasant, and records in his journal that he visited with "Xr. Vanmetrise." Contacts between the two were less than happy; Lord Fairfax claimed the Vanmeter tract as a part of his South Branch Manor, included in the original "Northern Neck" grant from Charles 11. Vanmeter claimed that his lands were not included in the Fairfax grant; rather, that they were granted separately by the Virginia Council in Resulting litigation from the dispute went on for many years, and finally was settled after the Revolutionary War by a court decree upholding the Vanmeter heirs in their claim. saac's son, Garrett, improved the Vanmeter lands by allowing the removal of the old fort and cabin, and replaced it by a strong brick structure, half below ground and half above,.and designed for defense. This stronghold, portions still extant, is an awkward, crudely fashioned building linked to the rest of the existing Fort Pleasant by a series of enclosed steps. The stronghold was a center of activity during the bloody "Battle of the Trough," an engagement between ndians and settlers in Garrett Vanmeter's son, saac, married Elizabeth nskeep, daughter of a pioneer family in the South Branch of the Potomac Valley. Together they planned and built the beautiful home, "Fort Pleasant," on the site of the old fort which bore that name. Their residence was soon recognized as one of the "great houses" in the South Branch Valley. t was one of the earliest to use massive columns at its entrance. Fort Pleasant is situated just above "The Trough," a natural gateway to the South Branch Valley. The first highway to the upper valley passed nearby, and to it came soldiers, surveyors, hunters and trappers, ndian traders, and such men of affairs as Christopher Gist. t was a center of activity during the Revolution, during the years of westward expansion, and through the Civil War and later conflicts in which the nation has been engaged. The purpose of the present owners is to preserve and restore it withutmost fidelity to the original residence strhcture.

4 ~ George Washington's Diary Harch 27 April 8, 1748 Kerchevalls History of the Valley of Virginiapp. 40, 55, 7476, 82, 92, 93. GEOGRAPHCAL DATA LATTUDE AND LONGTUDE COORDNATES LATTUDE AND LONGTUDE COORDNATES DEFNNG A RECTANGLE LOCATNG THE PROPERTY 0 DEFNNG THE CENTER PONT OF A PROPERTY R. OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES ' LONGTUDE ATTUOE LONG1 TUDC Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Unutes Seconds 39 O 08 ' 02 ' ' 54" ~PPROXMATE ACREAGE OF NOM~NATED PROPERTY$ Acre 157 4LL STATES AND COUNTES FOR PROPERTES OVERLAPPNG STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARES TATE: COUNTY 1 TATE: COUNTY TATE: TATE: / COUNTY. FORM PREPARED BY a AME AND TTLE: Mrs. Wancy Snider, Field Research Agent )RGAN ZATON. DATE West Virginia Antiquities Commission August 1972 TREET ANDNUMBER: Old MountainlairWes t Virginia Unj TY OR TOWN: STATE LASON OFFtCER CERTlFiCA ON ersity TATE West Virginia 1 54 NATONAL REGSTER VERF1CATCN As the designated State Liaison Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law ). hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended level of significance of this nomination is: National,,% State Local hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register. Chief. Office of ircheoiogy and Historic Preservation / Name Title P ka rice G. Brooks sfate Historic preservation Officer Date ATTEST: Keeper of The National Register Date June 5, 1973 Late GPO

- (OWNER'S NAME: 1s 21 Frederick C. and Patricia A. Love

- (OWNER'S NAME: 1s 21 Frederick C. and Patricia A. Love . Form 10-300 (Rev. 6-72) UNTED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE NTEROR NATONAL PARK SERVCE NATONAL REGSTER OF HSTORC PLACES NVENTORY - NOMNATON FORM (Type all entries complete applicable sections) 'STATE West