We had the unexpected pleasure of visiting Mount Hammond Friday (Oct 1). The house is very old -- whether it was built by James Hammond, or Benjamin Rankin is unclear, and the current owners have heard several stories. Hammond's initials are carved in a stone over one of the doors. But it could even be older than Rankin.

It's quite likely a cemetery was on the property and Hammond and Rankin were probably buried there. A fragment of a stone to a grave of a granddaughter of Thomas R Rankin was found (Margaret? Little ca 1850) when the owners' parents began renovations more than 50 years ago. No other stones were found and the property had been occupied by tenants for quite some time before that, owned by a Dr Pittman. The graveyard was probably lost or removed after the Hammond family sold out, or else the stones are buried underground somewhere.

The house sits on a large property on the Shenandoah. They are not completely sure of the site of the Rankin-Hammond ferry, but think it is a little further south than Mt Hammond, near some rapids; some Civil War re-enactors told them that (or put their own ferry there).

The property was originally 300 acres, much like the Hammond plantation. It has been in possession of the family of the current owners since 1947, and the property has recently been split in half between members of that family.

Judy & Tom, our afternoon hosts, have a wealth of information about the house, the Hammond and Rankin family and descendents, & have contacts with one of the active family societies of the area, the Roper family (James Roper owned much of the Hammond and maybe some Beeler legacies after 1850). It was too much for me to absorb in one sitting but Judy has promised to share this with us as time permits. In particular her husband's parents did extensive land research and have a lot of the deed references we need to start drawing.

Pictures and more description after the plane ride!