After decorating the church for my daughter’s wedding, we had a few hours before we were permitted to return to decorate the reception hall for the wedding.
While the guys went to a pizza shop, my daughter and I went to Springdale Village Inn…a gift from my daughter.
She told me she had reserved a room for a mother-daughter night in this historic bed and breakfast. Her treat. Oh my!
The twisty turny roads meandered to a narrow drive that led us onto the gorgeous property of this house that embued history inside and out.
The grounds include five acres of land through which a babbling brook rambles, complete with bridges, gardens, and benches.
Amenities include a free bottle of wine and a farm to table breakfast (the farm being their own property).
Our only sadness was that we could barely enjoy any of it (hence the lack of photos) we were so busy with the wedding.
HISTORY
Amazingly as I started digging into the history I discovered that I have “crossed paths” numerous times with those who lived here.
This federal-style home is located in Purcellville, Virginia, just 20 miles from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
It was the home of abolitionist and Quaker, Samuel M. Janney (1801-1880).
FAIRFAX COUNTY YEARS
Born in Loudoun County on a farm (with a mill), he moved to neighboring Fairfax County after his mother’s death at the age of 12.
His education took him to Alexandria where he developed a love for the classics and formed a literary society.
Conscience stricken, he abandoned his love for books to focus on his Quaker faith.
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY YEARS – OCCOQUAN
After a couple of years of commuting to his home in Alexandria, 16 miles to the north (I guess Northern Virginian’s are historically inclined to this madness) Janney moved to Occoquan.
However, he then commuted to Alexandria to attend abolitionist meetings.
LOUDOUN COUNTY YEARS
After the cotton factory venture failed, Samuel M Janney returned to Loudoun County with his wife where he built this federal home in 1832.
BOARDING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
In 1839 Janney and his wife established their home as a boarding school for girls who arrived from as far away as Texas.
One of their students, Rebecca Wright of Winchester, later became a Union Spy.
An advertisement read:
The branches taught are – Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Geography, History, Grammar, Composition, Book-keeping, Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, Chemistry, Botany, Algebra, Rhetoric, the French Language, Drawing, Painting, and Needlework. Lectures are delivered on Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, and Chemistry, illustrated by pleasing experiments. A library, a cabinet of minerals, and philosophical apparatus, are provided for the use of the school. The discipline is strictly parental; and every effort is made to induce in the minds of the pupils a love of knowledge and desire of excellence as the proper stimulants to exertion.-Advertisement, sketches, and more details are here.
ABOLITIONIST
Through teaching the young girls with his wife, he returned to his love of books.
He wrote extensively on the Quaker faith and the abolition movement, wrote biographies on William Penn and George Fox, and even wrote poetry.
Janney even ensured the education of the local African American children through his founding of day schools and Sunday Schools.
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
This house is rumored to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.
If only walls could talk, because in 1991, Janney’s great-nephew revealed various architectural elements that hint at ‘sub-basements, crawl spaces, curious cubby holes and closed-off fireplaces.’
In 1864, Janney met with Union General Sheridan and President Lincoln on various matters, including to advocate the release of local men who had been imprisoned.
Apparently, Janney owned a pass from President Lincoln that allowed him to cross the Potomac River, which was otherwise difficult to obtain.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Janney was buried in the Quaker community where he died, Lincoln, Virginia, named after President Lincoln.
Interestingly, during Lincoln’s first election, a Quaker named Joseph T. Janney (a relative of Samuel’s) allowed a campaign flag for Abraham Lincoln to be hoisted above his Rockledge Mansion home in Occoquan, which caused a bunch of animosity.
SAM RAYBURN AND LBJ
In the next century Sam Rayburn and Lyndon B. Johnson rented this home as their weekend retreat, where they played many a game of poker in the parlor.
