250th Anniversary Facts on Stonlea: an historic home and Cloyd family

August 24, 2020 Reader Submission

The Stonelea Plantation
This picturesque stone home known as Stonelea (Ston-Uh-Lee-Uh) in the Trinity community stands at “The Headwaters of Tinker Creek”. Three primitive roads converged on a high hilltop near here, off of what is now Shaver’s Farm Road. One road led toward Fincastle, one toward the Blacksburg Road and on to Catawba, the other followed basically what is now 220 to the “Roan Oak”. The main road crossed what is now Country Club Rd, and becomes the community known as Shawnee Village.
Local residents may be surprised to know that the home known as Stonelea, was not so named until the 1960’s. Throughout the 221 year history of the home, it has been known by the names of the families that lived there. Our story begins with the first family to live at this location, David Cloyd. He lived in what is now the state of Delaware in the early 1700’s. Around 1733 he left there and bought many tracts of land in Botetourt and Rockbridge county. He came to this area of Botetourt around 1747, with two brothers, Joseph and Michael near what was then known as Amsterdam.
The family of Joseph moved on to Alabama but Michael lived at Amsterdam near the Insurance Agency of Brent Hershey. This cabin was meticulously moved and recontstructed on Rt. 220 by the late Richard Farmer at Trinity. The residents of Botetourt are indeed grateful to the Farmer family for saving this beautiful historic resource. Michael served in the militia in the Revolutionary War, and though the other brothers were of age, for some reason, they did not.
The brothers were lot owners in the town of Amsterdam, which was expected to become a major city. Sadly the marker bearing the name of this historic community on Rt. 220 has been removed. We must do better at preserving and recognizing our historic treastures in Botetourt.
Given that the town of Fincastle was not located on “The Great Road”, a road east of modern Route 220, one might think that the town would have been left out of the migration westward, and for very early pioneers, this was true. Then an innovative thinker, created a bypass up the Spreading Springs Valley to Fincastle. This greatly hastened pioneers travel westward. Rather than traveling down modern day Rt. 11, they would roughly travel what is now Springwood Road, to other roads, then to the county seat. This greatly benefitted and increased Fincastle’s importance in pioneer times.
Then at the Trinity intersection, now owned by Lance Clark, the home of David Cloyd on Shawnee Trail was strategically located en route to Greenfield and Amsterdam. The alternate road reconnected with The Great Road; another road went toward Catawba and reconnected with the Blacksburg Road. These primitive roads were traveled extensively.The Cloyd home was significant because of a large and bountiful spring there known at one time as Rentfroe’s branch. The Rentfroe family owned the Greenfield Plantation before the Preston family purchased it. The Preston family built their home on the same site as this Rentfroe cabin. The Cloyd spring is listed as the head of Rentfroe’s Creek and is the primary water source for Tinker Creek. In early maps, it is known seen as Firebaugh Springs, as they became subsequent owners.
Sources of water were extremely important and horses would have found plenty of fresh water along this route. Today, the spring is abundant as ever. The beautiful stone home today standing here was not the Cloyd home but was built on the same site. The Cloyds built a log cabin there, probably much like the home of his brother’s home at Amsterdam. A dutch oven and fireplace in the home today were part of the original structure, and part of the plaster work is original.
David wasted no time in establishing his home and it is believed he built the cabin around 1750-1760. He married Margaret Cambpell, they had both been born in Ireland, and had a large family. They first settled properties in Rockbridge and on Lapsley’s Run; Stonelea was to be where both of them died.
One day in March of 1764 while David was visiting his other properties, Shawnee Indians raided the home and hideously scalped Mrs. Cloyd, her son John and a black woman known only as Molly. Mrs. Preston at Greenfield a half a mile away heard two gunshots and presently saw Joseph Cloyd (son of David, not the brother) riding up on a plough horse still in harness to report the attack. Mrs. Preston sent three men from Greenfield to the Cloyd home and dispatched a messenger to Fort William, a small fort on Catawba Creek, near the intersection of what is today Lee Lane and Haymakertown Rd. where it had been inspected by George Washington.
Mrs. Cloyd was injured badly but was able to tell the story of what happened. She stated that drunken Indians slit open the feather beds, and looted the home of 200 English pounds in gold and silver coins. The escaping son Joseph Cloyd stated that the shots Mrs. Preston heard were the Shawnee shooting at him as they fled. He had escaped the ordeal only by hiding under a bed. The boy John was found dead upon arrival and Mrs. Cloyd died the next day, no doubt thankful for the relief. Before her death, she was able to relay the story to three men who had been sent from Greenfield. She said before the marauders left, they scraped her face with a corncob and one of them said “Poor old woman”. Margaret Cambell Cloyd, born in Ireland, crossed the Atlantic on a wooden ship, lived in Pennsylvania, then Rockbridge County and finally to Botetourt where she was mercillesly murdered along with her young son- lived a life most of us could only dream of telling.
Interesting, it has only come to light recently that the old black lady known only as Molly, feigned death during the attack, surviving many years working for Mr. Cloyd. David lived on at the homeplace until 1790, 26 years after the massacre.
Once the incident was reported at Fort William*, a militia of local men were dispatched and the Indians were caught on John’s Creek in present day Craig County. One of them was killed in the counterattack and coins belonging to the Cloyd family were found in their possession.
Legend has it that this attack on white settlers, was the last recorded Indian massacre west of the Missisippi River. The Cloyds and their son John were buried at High Bridge Church in Rockbridge County.
The property was held by the Cloyds until 1799, when it was sold to the Rev. Edward Mitchell, and it is he who built the stone house and familiar stone barn that stands near the public road. It is has been said that Italian stone masons brought to the United States by George Washington, were brought from Pennsylvania to build the two structures, which are still in use. The stones were dug from a deep pit to the right of the structure. The walls vary in thickness from 29 inches at the base tapering to 22 inches at the top. In the Pennsylvania dutch style, there are cornerstones believed to weigh in excess of 500 pounds. There were originally holes where guns could be pointed at marauding tribes of Indians. The interesting thing about history is that new details are being discovered all the time at these historic sites. They would make for some valuable archeological digs, if their historical appearance and significance is not changed. One of these interesting stories recently surfaced, and has been been reported by local historian, Ed Holt. He stated that a reported tunnel had been built as an escape route if needed, and that it culminated in the substantial stone barn. This explains why the two story barn with the entire lower story built of stone and large glass windows, was built in such a unique style. It was while visiting the Mitchell house, that Bishop Asbury drew up plans for the Fincastle Methodist church, Records show the deed for the church was recorded in July of 1803. Rev. Mitchell is credited with the spread of Methodism in this area.
Eventually, the home was bought by Phillip Firebaugh, who was the patriarch of this well known Botetourt family and whose extensive landownings stretched from Stonelea to the foot of Tinker Mountain. It remained in this family for more than 100 years. This explains the notation on early maps, where the former Cloyd Spring is listed as “Firebaugh Springs”. The family of the late Rodney Bush owns much of the land yet today and we are thankful that this beautiful cattle farm has been preserved in a pristine state. Their story is fascinating as well.
Rodney Bush’s father, J.W. Bush married Maggie Firebaugh, a daughter of Phillip Firebaugh who was 20 years his senior. As she was almost 40 years old by the time of their marriage, they had no children. He nursed her faithfully until she died at the age of 77, Mr. Bush was 58. After her death, J.W. inherited this entire portion of the Firebauth property. He remarried for a second time to a girl 20 years younger than himself and she was the mother of his children that were fathered after he had reached the age of 60. Like his first wife, he nursed her for eight years through a period of deteriorating health. He soon became a widower for the second time and married a West Virginia lady named Roxie. They were married for two years, when her granddaughter, Kathryn Hinchee visited here and became acquainted with Mr. Bush’s son, Rodney. Kathryn is now 91 years old; she and and her sons David and Wesley live on the farmland that has remained in their family for many years.
The property has passed into the hands of other owners.
Mrs. Howard Weeks eventually bought the beautiful plantation and named it “Stonelea.” Mrs. W. H. Frazier was the next owner and she and Mrs. Weeks added beautiful flowering gardens. The big spring as well as the house are barely visible as Shawnee Trail crosses the old Rentfroe Creek at the spring, thickly forested now, but the stone barn is a visible landmark. If any home deserves a historic marker in Botetourt,as many do, I feel that Stonelea should be one of them. At some point, we can only hope to persuade historic organizations, in cooperation with county officials, of the importance to recognizing historic structures, cemeteries, churches and communities in our county. I grew up in sight of Stonelea. I was often intrigued of the stories this place could tell; if only walls could talk.

Story by Greg Rieley, Special to The Botetourt Bee

Photos courtesy of Places Near the Mountains and Cloyd House by Greg Riley

Sources: Places Near the Mountains by Helen Prillaman ; Virginia Frontiers by F. B. Kegley; Seed-bed of the Republic: Early Botaeout by Robert Douthat Stoner