Highlights of Grey Gables Farm History
The rolling meadows, woods and stream at Grey Gables certainly would have been a logical area for Native Americans to inhabit. Although we personally have no tangible proof this is the case, we have been told that arrow heads had been found at Grey Gables when fields were plowed in the past.
The first records we have from European settlers show that Grey Gables land was part of a grant of over 100,000 acres to William Beverly from King George II in 1736. In 1768 295 of those acres were purchased by John Brown.
The farm, then known as Sunnyside, stayed in the Brown family through the Civil War. It is believed that in the late 1770’s Mr. Brown’s son, James Brown, hired Hessian prisoners of war to build the stone manor house which now stands at Grey Gables. The Hessians had been mercenary soldiers fighting on the side of the British during the Revolutionary war. They were captured when surprised by Washington at Trenton on December 26, 1776. After capture they were marched to Winchester and Charlottesville for internment. Presumably, they had to find ways to support and feed themselves. Many were artisans and ultimately stayed in Virginia and contributed to the rich architectural traditions of the Valley.
Grey Gables is a fine example of a Hessian style stone house. The solid limestone walls are 22” thick. The original house measures 30’x40’ with enclosed interior German style end chimneys and a full basement.
The basement includes the original cooking fireplace which is 7 feet wide. Unfortunately it is now somewhat obscured by a furnace installation, but one can imagine what it was like when kettles were hanging over the fire.
The living room also has an impressive stone arched fireplace which is 6’ wide and almost 5’ high. There are three other fireplaces in the house, including one in the master bedroom.
At sometime around 1840 an old tavern was moved and attached to the back of the stone house. It now houses the dining room and kitchen.
The 1860 census data show at that time the farm was owned by William A. Brown (age 36). He lived with his wife Nancy C. Brown (age 35) and their two children, Newton (age 10) and Nannie (age 5). The farm value was listed at $6800. The farm produced 125 bushels of wheat, 5 bushels of rye, 900 bushels of corn, 75 bushels of oats and 75 bushels of Irish potatoes. Also produced were 500 lbs. of butter and 30 of wool. Livestock including horses, cows, sheep, swine were valued at $1190.
The slave-owners census of 1860 reports that William A. Brown owned three black slaves, listed as one male and two females. The census did not record names of slaves.
Two stories regarding the Civil War have been passed down in the Brown family and recorded by Augusta County historians. When William Brown heard that the Union Army was approaching he ordered a black “servant” to take five horses into the woods and hide. The “servant” promptly went right to the Yankees and joined up. Mr. Brown later filed a grievance at the Augusta County Courthouse against General Hunter on June 8, 1864 for $2659 for “five heads of horses and one Negro man by name of Alonzo.”
Apparently, at the same time Nancy Brown was hiding the family silver in and around the farm house. According to the story, after the Yankees left, all the silver was accounted for except for one spoon which was never found. Nearly 100 years later when a furnace was installed in the basement a silver spoon was found in the clay at the chimney base. The spoon was returned to the Brown’s descendants who lived in Staunton.
After the Civil War the Brown family sold the farm. Still called Sunnyside it had a number of different owners until 1901 when another unrelated Brown family bought and owned it until 1963. Mrs. Jessie Brown was a member of a book discussion group which read Anne of Green Gables after its publication in 1908. According to her daughters she was so taken with the book she renamed their farm Grey Gables. Certainly, both names aptly describe the farm.
During the 1960’s the Krewatch family owned Grey Gables. They did extensive research on the property and modernized the farm house.
In 1976, Harry Price, a trainer of cutting horses bought Grey Gables and built the large barn for his horse operation. That barn now houses our new horse stalls and indoor riding arena.
In 1986 Dr. George and Karolina Cimochowski bought the farm and enjoyed it as a vacation home and ran a cattle farm.
Michael and Victoria Godfrey bought Grey Gables in 1999 as part of their mission to conserve land in Swoope. They placed the property under a conservation easement and improved the land by introducing rotational grazing, creating two ponds and putting some sections of the pasture back into natural areas for birds and wild life.
In 2003 Greg and I bought Grey Gables and continue the tradition of land stewardship at Grey Gables.
Paulyn Heinmiller Faust
Information Sources: 1860 Population Census – Augusta County, Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War, Virginia Center for Digital History, University of Virginia http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/VoS/govdoc/censi/census_new.html
1860 Slave Owners Census – Augusta County, Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War, Virginia Center for Digital History, University of Virginia http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/VoS/govdoc/censi/census_new.html
Farrar, Emmie Ferguson and Hines, Emilee. Old Virginia Houses – Shenandoah. Charlottes, N.C.: Delmar Publishing Co., 1976.
Nutt, Joe. Historic Houses of Augusta County, Virginia. Waynesboro, Va.: The Humphries Press, 2007.
Articles from copies from books and newspapers. Sources/dates unknown.
Clem, Gladys B. Old Homes of Augusta County.
Nut, Joe. Hebron's Grey Gables Built by Prisoners.