Traveller 1840 17 Acres
Land | 17 acres
Marketing description
Traveller, General Lee’s war horse, was born on this farm, known as the Hamilton Farm, in 1857 in the Blue Sulphur Springs Valley. Traveller was an American Saddlebred and as a colt, he took top honors at the Lewisburg, Virginia, fairs in 1858, 1859 and 1860. As an adult, Traveller was a sturdy horse, 16 hands tall, Iron gray in color with black points, a long mane and flowing tail. From all accounts, Traveller was difficult, high-strung, a bit unruly, and pranced or jigged wherever he went.
General Lee first saw the horse when he took command of Confederate troops near Big Sewell Mountain, along the Midland Trail (Route 60) under a tree that came to be known as “Lee’s Tree” (Pendleton 2004: p 14). At that time, Traveller had been sold to Captain Joseph M. Broun by Captain James W. Johnston, to whom the horse had been gifted by his father, Andrew Johnston. Lee later bought Traveller from Major Broun for the sum of $200 Confederate money (Pendleton 2004: p 16). Lee rode Traveller throughout the Civil War and his subsequent retirement. It is stated that Traveller went into battle more than any other Civil War horse. Traveller walked behind the hearse at Lee’s funeral and continued to be well cared for until his death in June 1871, just eight months after the death of General Lee.
Traveller was trained by an enslaved person, Frank Wilson, who after emancipation changed his name to Frank Winfield Page (Pendleton 2004: p 13). Some of the early horse training equipment is on display at the North House Museum in Lewisburg.
Mary Lucinda Page (Kelly), the first of Frank’s two daughters, wrote to her daughter Harriet M. Williams in 1976 that “My father was taught to go out on the Johnson farm early in the mornings and drive up the young horses from the field. He started riding at the age of ten. The horses were penned up; a bridle put on them. Then he would ride those horses every day until they were gentle. That’s why it is said he was the first man to break ‘Traveler’ Gen Robert. E. Lee’s famous ‘war horse’” (Pendleton 2004: p 14).
Horses must be trained to tolerate commotion, people, and other strange horses. One can imagine Page riding him past the Blue Sulphur Springs Resort for that purpose. Little did he know he was training him for war.
Investment highlights
- “Traveller 1840”, known as the Hamilton Farm where Robert E. Lee’s war horse, Traveller, was foaled in 1857
- The Brick House is a two story Adamesque style home was built circa 1840 in Virginia’s Blue Sulphur Valley, nearly a quarter century before West Virginia became a state in 1863
- Traveller 1840 has been part of a working farm since the 1770’s. The property currently consists of the home grounds and pasture and/or cropland. The property is thought to have first been settled in 1773 by Major William Hamilton
- 17 +/- acres of hay and grazing land surround the home creating a country estate property
- Build date: Circa 1840
- An underground spring, the original water source for the home, is still producing and is currently used to water livestock. The spring exit from underground is protected by a spring house made of sandstone
- Constructed of hand-made – kiln-fired clay bricks, which may have been fired and laid by locally famous brickmaker John Dunn, who made and laid the bricks for the nearby Blue Sulphur Springs Resort
- Unbelievably, the original staircases, moldings, fireplace mantels are still in place
- Hand cut sandstone was quarried nearby for use as lintels, foundation stones, walkways, and a basement stairway
- 4,028 +/- Sq. ft. living area with a partial basement
- Rich and diverse resident wildlife population in perfect harmony with farming operations
- Minutes to historic Lewisburg, jet airport, interstates, hospital and city amenities
- Located near the historic Blue Sulphur Springs
- Perfect for agricultural uses
- Surrounded by large farms and timber tracts in a nice rural neighborhood
- Superior access by state maintained paved roads
- Cell phone coverage is good, depending on the carrier
- Darkest of skies with little light pollution for star-planet gazing & astrophotography
- Sedges, rushes, ferns, songbirds, frogs, turtles, & crawdads populate nearby wetlands & bogs
- Located in Greenbrier County, just 20 minutes from Lewisburg, the county seat
- Area fur bearing wildlife – deer, black bear, squirrel, bobcat, raccoon, fox, chipmunk, opossum, skunk, coyote, and rabbits
- Area winged wildlife – eagles, hawks, owls, ravens, wild turkeys and Neotropical songbirds
- Pasture grasses, wildflowers and indigenous plants, coupled with the nearby forests produce life-giving Oxygen and are a sequester of carbon dioxide
- Perfect for recreational activities including shooting sports, ATV riding, horseback riding, hiking, camping, hunting and nature viewing
- Low taxes, low population density
- Scenic, cultural, and historic values of the farm provide not only economic benefits, but also quality of life values
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