Chestnut Oak and Autumn Haze Farm are located on the edge of a farming village known as Amissville, Virginia. American settlers first permanently settled this area of rural Virginia in the early 1700s. These settlers were moving west from the Richmond and Williamsburg, Virginia areas. During the early 1700s Indians still used this area as their hunting grounds and were not friendly to the new settlers. Many of the settlers suffered death at the hands of these Indians. Many "Indian Artifacts " can still be found here at Chestnut Oak and on surrounding lands.

The civil war sponsored several battles in the surrounding areas of Amissville. Old timers have told me stories of their parents seeing confederate solders traveling through the Chestnut Oak area on their way to cross the Rappahannock River. I have found artifacts here at Chestnut Oak from that era to confirm their stories. There was movement by armies of both sides through the area of Amissville during the Civil War.

At the time of the settlement of Jamestown in 1607, this hilly, wooded Virginia land at the foothills of the famous Blue Ridge Mountains was inhabited by the Manahoacs (Algonquin for they were known to be very merry) Indians. The Manahoacs' prehistoric home was among the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains. The Manahoacs were not agricultural people; they lived by hunting and made a practice of firing the forest in order to kill the trees and hence make room for grasses for their favorite game, the buffalo. As their hunting grounds were invaded by the early settlers, these Indians retaliated by making many destructive raids on the settlers. This prompted Lord Howard, on becoming governor of Virginia, to negotiate a treaty with them in 1684. This treaty in effect constituted a concession of the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the land west of the Blue Ridge to the Iroquois Indians in return for immunity from molestation to the settlements already established below the falls of the rivers. Because of this covenant, no official colonization was possible until the treaty of Albany in 1722, which opened up the Piedmont section of Virginia to settlement.

By 1700, the total population of Virginia was only about 70,000. A majority of these settlers were small farmers who constantly encroached upon Indian lands in the Rappahannock region. In effect this part of Virginia became the "First Frontier". The "WEST" had now appeared in American history. Settlement of this immediate area began in about 1730. This area, to be known as Rappahannock, did not emerge until 1833. It acquired its name from the famous Rappahannock River. In Rappahannock County some of the homes of the "First Frontiersman" still stand, occupied in some instances by descendants of the first settlers. Here at Chestnut Oak, a 1750 log cabin relic is still standing on Jobbers Mountain. Descendants of the Poe Family, who originally built this home, occupied it until 1913. It is representative of the homes of the 1700 era that were built on the "new" frontier. An excellent representation of cabins, mansions, and houses built during the first one hundred fifty years of settlement can be found in the vicinity of Chestnut Oak and throughout Rappahannock County.

Amissville: This scattered village grew along the Waterloo road on grants made by Lord Fairfax to Joseph Bayse and Joseph Amiss in 1763; acquiring the name of Amissville when the Amiss faction won over the Bayses by one vote in an election to name the village. The Amissville Post Office was established on October 2, 1810, with the first postmaster Thomas Amiss.  There are several 18th century homes in and around Amissville, the oldest being the Baker cottage next to the Methodist Church. The Luttrels, Singletons, Corbins and Bywarters settled this part of the country, the latter two to the South of the Amiss grant along the Thorton River. It is reported that Amissville became a part of Rappahannock County in 1833. In August, 1670, Francis Lederer had explored the area from the Great Fork, the juncture of the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers, to the Blue Ridge, and marked trails. In the mid 1700s, William Poe, who had land in the upper reaches of Battle Run as far back as 1737, and lived near Gaines Cross Roads, laid off a road which roughly followed John Lederer's Trail that he traveled in 1670. It is represented by the present Route 637 from Route 211 west of Amissville to a spot near Wakefield Manor on Route 522, between Flint Hill and Huntly.

A Amissville son of the original Luttrell family ( Dr. Homer Browning Luttrell ) was my parent's family medical doctor in a coal mining community in West Virginia and was my doctor as a small child; over 75 years ago. Dr. Luttrell lived to be 97 years old and died on July 2, 1992. He was well known for his work as a pioneer coal company doctor at Buckeye Coal and Coke Company in Freeman, WV during the 1920s and 30s. Luttrell descendants still reside in Amissville,Virginia.

Chestnut Oak: Chestnut Oak is located on Rt. 637, two miles from the Amissville village. This rural area was once referred to as Hedgesville. Chestnut Oak is named after a large (approximately two hundred years old) "Chestnut Oak" tree that still stands beside to the old "Autumn Haze Farm" house. This farmhouse is representative of the Virginia "common folk" houses that were built at the turn of the 19th century. It is constructed from rough cut timber from the surrounding forest and is supported with water from a twenty-six foot deep (hand dug) well. An old fashion metal roof covers the house. It was built by the Wes Peyton Family in the early 1900s and remains in a restored condition. From this beautiful Autumn Haze Farm setting one can only imagine living conditions that existed in this rural Virginia country side one hundred years ago.

The fertile soil at Autumn Haze offers exceptionally good gardening and has served as farmland for the past one hundred fifty years. An abundant amount of fruits and vegetables are still grown here each year. The surrounding hilly woodlands and fields also offer refuge to an abundant amount of wild life; including white tail deer, black bear, wild turkey, grouse, and the usual amount of fox, rabbit and numerous other small game. A stocked pond offers good fishing and exceptional relaxation.

(The author credits the above early Virginia history to the Rappahannock County, Virginia.."The first Frontier" brochure as published in 1957.)

Autumn Haze Farm