Wappocomo

Wappocomo is a historic Georgian mansion and farm located north of Romney in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. The property sits along Cumberland Road (West Virginia Route 28) and the South Branch Valley Railroad, overlooking the South Branch Potomac River. The original section of the mansion was built in 1774 by Nicholas Casey (1745–1833), using English-made bricks that had served as ballast in ships loading tobacco on the James River. The land had been part of the South Branch Survey of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron's Northern Neck Proprietary. The Parsons family, prominent in Virginia and West Virginia politics during the 18th and 19th centuries, acquired Wappocomo and continue to maintain ownership into the 21st century. The property is also the site of Wappocomo Station, the principal passenger depot for the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad. The mansion is architecturally notable for its formal façade facing the road and South Branch Mountain rather than the river, and for its original 1774 Georgian structure with a grand central stairway and handmade woodworking. A two-story stone addition with deep verandas was completed in 1861. Wappocomo was involved in two slavery-related disputes between Pennsylvania and Virginia, in 1788 and 1855, reflecting the broader sectional tensions of the era.

The land upon which Wappocomo is located was originally part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a land grant that the exiled Charles II awarded to seven of his supporters in 1649 during the English Interregnum. Following the Restoration in 1660, Charles II finally ascended the English throne. Charles II renewed the Northern Neck Proprietary grant in 1662, revised it in 1669, and again renewed the original grant favoring original grantee Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper and Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington in 1672. In 1681, Bennet sold his share to Lord Colepeper, and Lord Colepeper received a new charter for the entire land grant from James II in 1688. Following the deaths of Lord Colepeper, his wife Margaret, and his daughter Katherine, the Northern Neck Proprietary passed to Katherine's son Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron in 1719. Lord Fairfax selected a portion of the proprietary for his manor. This tract, known as the South Branch Survey of the Northern Neck Proprietary, extended from the north end of the Trough to the junction of the North and South Branches of the Potomac River. In 1748, Fairfax commissioned James Genn to survey the South Branch Potomac River lowlands for sale and lease, with lots ranging in size from 300 to 400 acres (120 to 160 ha). Prominent Hampshire County pioneer Peter Casey (1715–87) received the Wappocomo parcel, known as Lot Number 21 of the South Branch Survey, from Lord Fairfax. Peter Casey's son, Nicholas (1745–1833), married Grace Foreman (1762–1796), the daughter of another Hampshire County pioneer and colonial military officer William Foreman. Nicholas Casey inherited Lot Number 21 from his father, and in 1774, Nicholas built the present mansion at Wappocomo. The bricks used in the construction of Casey's mansion were manufactured in England, and used as ballast to stabilize ships loading tobacco in the James River. These bricks were then transported overland through the Blue Ridge Mountains and Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in bullock carts. During this time, the mansion was named Wappocomo, which was derived from the Native American toponym "Wappatomaka" for the South Branch Potomac River. In 1788, while residing at his Wappocomo residence, Casey purchased a freed slave named John, who had been residing in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Virginia residents Francis McGuire, Baldwin Parsons, and Absalom Wells seized John and transported him to Virginia, where they sold him back into slavery to Casey. Such an act was illegal in Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Abolition Society petitioned Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Mifflin to demand punishment of the three men by the Governor of Virginia. Virginia's governor refused, citing the absence of a provision in the United States Constitution calling for such an action. Governor Mifflin petitioned the United States Congress, and a bill was introduced that provided against such an occurrence. On December 4, 1789, Casey was appointed by an act of the Virginia General Assembly as a trustee of Romney. Casey served as a trustee alongside Isaac Parsons and Andrew Wodrow. Casey and his fellow trustees were given authority by the Virginia General Assembly to settle disputes regarding the town's land lots and to "open and clear" the town's "streets and lanes…" In August 1855, a fugitive slave named Jacob Green escaped from Wappocomo with several other slaves to Pennsylvania. Col. Isaac Parsons (1814–62) and his nephews went north to pursue the escapees, resulting in the arrest of his nephew, James "Zip" Parsons III (1831–93). Parsons' trial caused a further dispute between the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania over the latter's refusal to execute the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The mansion at Wappocomo is unique among the historic residences along the South Branch Potomac River, in that its formal façade faces toward the road and the western flanks of South Branch Mountain rather than toward the river. The original 1774 portion of the mansion is a square two-story Georgian-style structure, an architectural style prevalent in Virginia at the time of Wappocomo's construction. The interior of the 1774 structure contains a grand stairway in the center hall and all the original handmade woodworking. A stone addition to the mansion with two stories of deep verandas was completed in 1861. The principal passenger depot for the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad, Wappocomo Station, is located at the farm.

• 1861

  A stone addition with two stories of deep verandas was completed at Wappocomo.

• 1855

  Fugitive slave Jacob Green escaped from Wappocomo, leading to another dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania.

• 1789

  Nicholas Casey was appointed a trustee of Romney by the Virginia General Assembly.

• 1788

  Nicholas Casey purchased a freed slave named John, leading to a dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia.

• 1774

  Nicholas Casey built the original Georgian mansion at Wappocomo.

• 1748

  Lord Fairfax commissioned James Genn to survey the South Branch Potomac River lowlands.

• 1719

  The Northern Neck Proprietary passed to Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron.

• 1649

  Charles II awarded the Northern Neck Proprietary to seven supporters.

1. 1Wappocomo (Romney, West Virginia) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Wappocomo - Wikidatawikidata.org