Oyster House - Fort Loudoun Barracks?
That Western most Barrack in Fort Loudoun might still be around.
After existing until 1820 it was an Oyster House.
It was described as a tall logged yellow painted building.
Then it got moved. To Fairfax Lane.
Is it hiding in plain sight?
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This blog authored and compiled by Jim Moyer 2/13/2021, 2/28/2021
We have 3 sources for this claim.
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The first source
is William Greenway Russell.
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William Greenway Russell wrote about
it in his, "What I know about Winchester."
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He lived during the time when this Yellow log house existed.
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He noted that this yellow log house was an Oyster House at least until 1820.
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He placed it right in the vicinity of the western side of Loudoun Street.
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He notes that at some point after that year, the building was dismantled and moved to Fairfax Lane.
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He did not note if the building was rebuilt the same way or what lot holds it.
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The 2nd source is Norman Baker
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Was this yellow log Oyster House the western most Barrack in Fort Loudoun?
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That is the question Norman Baker asked when he read William Greenway Russell's description of the tall log yellow building.
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It is a great question Norman Baker asked.
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William Greenway Russell did not associate that Oyster House to possibly being the old western barracks of For Loudoun.
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It was Norman Baker who saw the possible connection.
He had reversed engineered the dimensions of this fort just by measuring all of George Washington's measurement in relation to its distance to the Well on the property which still exists.
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This aerial photograph and the white footprint is by Norman Baker.
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His research led an archaeological team right to where the walls were.
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The captions and arrows are by Jim Moyer.
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The third source is from Garland Quarles' book.
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A picture shows how the exact location of the fort's footprint was known to at least to Lois M Newman of the City Engineer's Office in 1989.
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Since Garland Redd Quarles (1901-1986) wrote Historic Winchester VA in 1952 and lived until 1986, he might not have seen this picture printed in 1989 of the fort's footprint.
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It was included in a reprint of his work in 1996.
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So, this means that maybe Norman Baker saw this image. And instead of just relying on that, he did mark off measurements from the well that still exists on this site.
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Also letters and diagrams by Colonel George Washington himself were used to calculate the footprint of this Fort Loudoun.
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Source:
On Page 13, of Winchester Virginia Streets, Churches, Schools published by Winchester-Frederick Co Historical Society 1996. This book reprints and joins in this one book these separate publications by Garland Quarles such as Historic Winchester Virginia 1952, The Streets of Winchester Virginia 1958, The Churches of Winchester 1960, The Schools of Winchester Virginia 1964.
The replica of the fort was thought at first to represent the fort in the French and Indian War. But the actual fort was built of hewn logs roughly a foot in length that ran sideways, And it was double wall filled in with rock and dirt.
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This model comes closer to Fort Loudoun's 2nd Act as a prison for Revolutionary War 29 years later. The stockade that might have been in place might have been looser than the sturdy construction this model shows.
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This model sat in George Washington Office and Museum for decades based off of a 1930s drawing.
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So we got a question - Where is this barrack now?
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None of us have researched
what house on Fairfax Lane this building became.
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When it got moved to Fairfax Lane,
is it hiding in plain sight? .
We have not researched the courthouse deeds and parcels to find out this answer.
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This may be yet another remnant of old Fort Loudoun still existing.
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THE 3 SOURCES:
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Read where we got this information of that Oyster House and why we think it might be the western most barracks of Fort Loudoun.
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1st Source:
From William Greenway Russell (1800-1891)
in his book, "What I know about Winchester,"
on page 79, writes:
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. "On the west side of Loudoun Street
and north of Peyton,
stood a tall log building
painted yellow,
many years ago.
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About 1820 it was occupied
by Thomas Brown,
whose wife was a Miss Fawsett.
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They kept an Oyster house. . Many years ago it was occupied by a Jesse Curry,
a tailor.
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This house was taken down
and moved near Fairfax Lane by William L Clark,
and fitted up for a dwelling.
Rediford Conrad occupied it for many years."
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2nd Source: From Norman Baker (1926-2019) in his book,
Fort Loudoun., Washington's Fort in Virginia, page 64 writes: .
"At least one of the hewn log buildings of Fort Loudoun
probably would have survived
into the early years of the 19th century.
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The east and north barracks and the commandant's office would have been sacrificed earlier, or at least at the time the main street of Winchester, Loudoun Street, was extended north through the site of the fort. . About 1820, "a tall log building painted yellow, " reportedly was standing on the Fort site and was occupied by Thomas Brown who operated an oyster house. . The log building,
which may have been the West Barracks of the Fort,
was later the residence of Jesse Curry,
before it was dismantled
and moved by William L Clark to near Fairfax Lane
and converted into a dwelling.
It was occupied for many years by Rediford Conrad." .
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3rd Source:
From Lois M Newman, City Engineer's Office.
This is taken from a Garland Quarles posthumous reprinted publication.
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Since Garland Redd Quarles (1901-1986) wrote Historic Winchester VA in 1952 and lived until 1986, he might not have seen this picture printed in 1989 of the fort's footprint.
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It was included in a reprint of his work in 1996.
Source:
On Page 13, of Winchester Virginia Streets, Churches, Schools published by Winchester-Frederick Co Historical Society 1996. This book reprints and joins in this one book these separate publications by Garland Quarles such as Historic Winchester Virginia 1952, The Streets of Winchester Virginia 1958, The Churches of Winchester 1960, The Schools of Winchester Virginia 1964.
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Biographies of the 2 Historians
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William Greenway Russell 1800-1891
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What I know about Winchester Recollections of William Greenway Russell 1800-1891 Editors Garland R Quarles Lewis N Barton Copyright 1953 Winchester-Frederick Co Historical Society,
the McClure Publishing Co in Staunton Va,
2nd printing Winchester Printers Inc, Winchester VA
Page 79
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William Greenway Russell's home
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William Greenway Russell's grave
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Picture on file in Handley Archives
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Norman Baker 1926-2019
Fort Loudoun., Washington's Fort in Virginia,
copyright 2006,
printed by Impressions Plus,
111 Featherbed Lane, Winchester VA,
published by the French and Indian War Foundation.
Page 64
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Washington Post bio of Norman Baker
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More on Norman Baker
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Winchester Star on Norman Baker
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See two books by Norman Baker being read by our Go Dogs Go Book Club
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Postscript:
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The Oyster House might have gotten moved and dismembered even after it's location on Fairfax Lane too. Exhaustive research on deeds and lots needs to be done and then maybe no answer after that, right? What would be the reward for such a detective? It's a cold case for the file. :)
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