The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1869-08-13
Tiain Tribune.
SPoTTsYLvANIA C. H. Va,
July %, 1869.
THE COUNTRY

July %, 1869.
THE COUNTRY.
Spottsylvania county was settled as
early as 1870, and contains 481 square
miles. In 1860 the population was
about 16,000-one half slaves. Of
these, but 5000 whites were in the
country, with 1000 slaves. The Rap
pahannock, fine uavigable stream,
forms the northern boundary, and
the Rapidan drains the western pOr-
ton. Three streams. the Malta, the
Po and the Ny, about as large as
Rocky Creek, ct Capt. Wm. Fleets,
traverse the county, and joining form
the Maltapony- The country is well
Watered. The timber originally was
oak and chestnut, but one half the
forests are now pine, grown up upon
abandoned fields and plantations, and
the trees are from 4 inches to 30
inches in diameter. The farms were
large, containing from 500 to 60O
acres each. The county was named
for Governor SpOttswOod, and when
organized in 1922 included Orange
and the country west, and the scat of
'justic was at Germania Ford, on tn
Rapidan. Gov. SpottswoOd built a
magnificent mansion near the Ford
and lived there in princely style, cul-
tivatiDg several thousand acres of
land He brought in German Colo
ny, and cultivated vineyard of 200
acres, exporting the wine to Europe
and the West Indies. Iron abounds,
and he built three furnaces and man
ufactured the first pig iron ever pro-
duced on the continent. Gold was
mined with profit, by washing the
sand taken from crevices in the rock;
and this soft rock is rich in gold.
This country was first settled by a
magnificent class of people, ard pre-
scented all the essentials for perma-
uont, prosperous and vigorous popu-
lation of wealth and refinement.
Immense tracts of land were clear>
ed before 1850, and slaves were i'm
ported from Africa to cultivate to-
bacco, and from the Rapidan and
Rappahannoek to the South Anna,
the whole country was subject to a
prosperous agriculture. But now,
how changed In all the region
where SpOttswOod, and Gordon, and
Chancellor once conducted such vast
enterprises in agriculture, mining and
wine growing, covering a country
sixteen by nine miles in extent, there
are now but but FIVE or six miserable
homes, each surrounded by a few
acres of open, half-cultivated land.
Furnaces, mansions, cottages and
barns have fallen TO the earth, and
impenetrable forests of oak and pine
cover the ONCE cultivated fields and
hide the sites of early thrift in the
gloom of dull-eyed oblivion. In such
evidences, with such a history,
were fought the battles Of Chancellors-
vile, Spottsylyania and the Wilder
ness. But more as to the country and
its capabilities. The soil was exhaus-
ted by unskilled cultivation, and the
enervated successors Of the vigorous
pioneers emigrated, with their slaves,
to the rich and cheap lands to the
South and West. Slavery wrought
its horrid mischief upon the earth
and upon the white race. As the
slave rose in the scale of Christian
civilization, the master race and the
''poOr whites" lost energy, enterprise,
and the virtues of social life. The
original forest was mostly oak and
chestnut. When outraged nature
came to re clothe her injured plains
she decked them in forests Of dark,
sombre pine. Wherever this pine
was destroyed during the war, 1 OBJ
served that oak and chestnut are now
springing up very thick. This is sin
gular, but it appears to be natures
orders. Now, all this country was
for sale when the war closed, and full
ly one-third of it is now owned by
Northern men. Scattered here and
there are Yankee families, who have
been here one or two years. 1t is
not necessary to inquire where they
are from. Their fields, fences, farm
ing implements, wagons, harness and
painted cottages proclaim them ''new
comers. In every instance, 1 found
them satisfied and prosperous, and
their fine crops gave proof of what
intelligent labor can accomplish
with this wasted soil. They never
made butter here fit to eat, but in the
market now. Yankee" mothers are
met with compact, yellow butter,
which they sell "like hot cakes" at
50 cents a pound. Mr.. Fisher,
blacksmith from Wisconsin, bought
700 acres around the Court House at
SIS an acre two years since, and this
year he harvested 3,4OO bushels of
wheat, and his corn, oats, clover and
potatoes promised we'll The house
on it is as large as our Court House,
and would cost at least as much as he
gave for the farm. In the center of
the tract is a square of FIVE acres for
county purposes, and on it is a small
but neat Court House and Jail
This is all of the County Seat. Mr..
Fisher keeps hotel, and entertains at
tendants at Court with an eye to the
"main chance He keeps bar and
sells mixed drinks at ten cents
smile. Tod's tavern, a point made