The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-08-19
A RELIC OF COLONIAL DAYS.
VISIT TO THE MYSTERIOUS STONE
HOUSE IN JAMES CRY COUNTY.
An Aimost-Forgotten LocaiiU-Was IL
Haunt OF Black Beard the Pirate "A
Treasure-Hunter tnterrupted-Lege ~
NperuIntions.

Haunt OF Black Beard the Pirate "A
Treasure Hunter rnterruptcd-Leg ~
Specuiations.
correspondence OF tho Richmond Dispatch'i
WILLIAMSBURG, August II. 1885.
Stone House Is a magisterial district OF
James City county, situated IN the upper
part, and II is bounded on the north and
east by New Kent county and York river.
Politically noticed. 1t Is Mahonelte
stronghoid-so much so that during the
spring canvass the cry OF Stone House was
considered a talisman OF success; but It's
claim TO celebrity can scarcely he attribli-
ted 10 that fact. The district received its
name from an old stone house within its
limits. concerning which little is known
and less has been written. and although
there is an account Of an old house, sup
nosed 20 I've the one in question. in HOwe's
history. local records fail TO furnish any
cine whatever on the subject. Some wild
and obscure traditions prevail about its
construction aud original uses, In which
the sllperstitious negroes strongly believe,
as Will presently he seen.
The knowledgc OF the exact location oi
this interesting relic il known to compare
lively few residents OF the county, beng
confined 10 the Mmber-dealers. the hands
i'm their employ. and hunters whose pllr-
suit Of game among the swamps and forest
of that lonely section made them accident
ally acquainted with II. In Williamsburg.
eighteen miles distant, many know not
even of lis existence. TO visit this hidden
fragment Of the early settlement had long
been determined on, and the proposal OF Il
brother.enthlIsiast fastened the writer to
crafty his curiosity. So on the morning
Of the 10th these kindred spirits were seen,
fttingly mounted, en- route for the land OF
Tho unLnown-two most jealous searchers
among ..thc misty shades OF things that
were"
THE JOURNEY.
Along the main road. which is inter-
sected at short distances by the railroad,
there are plenty of objects to enliven
tourney. Each station forms nucleus ior
4 STORE. blacksmith shop, and dwelling.
All Of the land Is under cultivation. New
houses peep out from the clearings i'll every
direction. and the saw-mllls rasplng away
down i'm the woods tell Of more TO come.
But as the route DIVORCES the stirring lnllu-
ence Of the railroad gradually disappears.
The houses are further apart, and the Tor
est is deeper. Occasionally single horse
man is met, and the measured stroke OF
the woodman's axe. far down III the pines,
alone serves to break the monotony.
GUIDE SECURED.
Having at length reached Mr.. Il. +.
Wright's, the gentleman who was TO con-
duet us To the old ruin. and to whom me
reader is indebted for the information OBJ
tanned. we proceeded in company. MI
Wright's home is some miles from the old
house. and excepting negro's hut IN Inc
woods i the nearest dwelling. signs OF
life became now even less frequent, the
| LONG ricks of cord-wood being the only
evidence of the vicinity OF man. The
comfy road was soon abandoned Tor Il
wood road. which. in turn. was left Tor
one still more difficult, being involved
among heavy ravines. Finally we tied the
horses on the border Of large swamp, ana
confirmed on foot. The stOne-house tract
contains 900 acres, and Is the property Oh
Mr. A. =, Richardson. Much of the tim
Der has been cut, but there Is still me
body left. i'm which deer, turkey, and other
rame abound. The old ruin is situated on
n bluff overlooking Weir creek, about three
miles. airline. from York river, ana so
difficult of access il it that our conductor,
although he had been there several times
before, at first missed the approach.
| NEARING THE HOUSE.
| This approach is narrow ridge between
| two deep, impossible Swamps. AT one
| noint il contracts to width OF ten feet,
| the sides falling away at a steep angle into
the morass fifty feet below. The ridge
rises at an easy grade until it expands into
small plateau full eighty feet above lne
waters Of the creek at its base. Here. amid
the tangled underground, stands what Is
lleft of the old stone house. The situation.
| il will be seen at glance, Is OF the strohE-
est kind, and if properly defended, was
welInigh impregnablc to assault WIN INC
weapons of two hundred years ago.
THE RECEIVED TRADITIONS.
The walk over had been enlivened by
relating the received traditions connected
with the place, which say that 1t was rem
dezvous of the pirate Black Beard, where ne
denosited much of his plumber and con-
cealed his treasure. The negroes iirmly
believe These traditions, and from time im-
memorial Il has been their habit to go there
secretly and die for the pirates money.
which has resulted in the almost total de-
struction of the old house. Indeed. we
came near witnessing money-dlgger al
his work. a veritable realization OF Irving :
Interesting legends Of the treasures OF Cap
| tain Kidd and its seekers along the shores
| az Manhattan island. just before we
reached the spot negro was seen Ia
| issue suspiciOusly from The bushes, anu
passing us with rapid step dlsap-
neared in the direction from which we
came. Upon our arrival we found that ne
| had lust Knocked of work, leaving three
| big holes i'm the ground and the freshly
scattered stones OF the only remaining
wall as the evidence OF the faith thai was
| i'm him. Could we have come suddenly
upon him while digging there Is no douD'
THAT there would have been real enact
| ment of the scenes depicted in the "Mo-
Inev-Digeers." i'm which the poor darby,
| like Wolfert Weber, DR.. knlpperhaIlsen,
and the black fisherman, would have run
himself nearly TO death, and fresh stories
of the terrible Black Beard been added ia
the already haunted reputation OF the place
| DESCRIPTION OF THE HOUSE.
| The old house is much smaller than was
| supposed, being only II feet wide and IL
feet long. but it bears the stamp OF gen
uineness that cannot be mistaken. our IN
lormant states that upon his first visit The
wall lust demolished was intact; it was IL
feet from the ground to the caves and had
"a sharp gable. The material used Is
coarse sandstone so strongly impregnated
| with iron that it bears that color. The stones
are neatly hewn, mortar being used tC
| cement them. The stone was procured
near by, where il may still be seen crop
ming through the surface Of the ground
| M walls are two feet thick with narrow