BEAVER CREEK PLANTATION
Beaver
Creek, the second Hairston home in Henry County, was built in 1776 by George
Hairston, son of Robert and Ruth Stovall Hairston. It has always been called
"the largest and most beautiful of the Hairston homes." The original
mansion was built on a Kings Grant of over 30,0000 acres, but was rebuilt in
1837 after the house was destroyed by fire. One of George's sons, Marshall
Hairston, had the original house of virgin oak. An old legend says that a
picture of Marshall is etched on a third floor rear window of this house. It is
said that he was standing in front of it when he was struck by lighting and
stunned for a few seconds. Later, the profile of a man appeared on the window,
and it has always been attributed to Marshall Hairston.
Around
the end of the nineteenth century, two new wings were added the Beaver Creek
home. Later, a third wing was added featuring a sun porch and Norwegian rose
marble floors and a classic mantel in the living-dining area. The house was also
re-plastered except for two places where the original construction can be seen.
The bricks that were saved from the original kitchen smoke house were made
into servants’ quarters. A small frame building on the front lawn was
converted into an office, featuring tiles designed with scenes from Beaver
Creek. The back of the house boasts a swimming pool, pool house, and tennis
court. The grounds are beautifully shaded with cedar, boxwood, sugar maple and
magnolia trees.
A boxwood path leads to the cemetery at Beaver Creek. The boxwoods are
over a century and a half old and are about 35 feet tall. George Hairston and
his wife Elizabeth Perkins (Letcher) Hairston are buried here along with many
other Hairston relatives. In 1987 George Hairston's grave was marked in a
special ceremony by the General James Breckinridge Chapter of the Daughters of
the American Revolution. This DAR marker cites George Hairston as a captain, the
rank he held during the American Revolution. George Hairston also served as a
Brigadier General during the War of 1812.
During the same year that Beaver Creek was built, George Hairston donated
fifty acres of land for a courthouse in Henry County. Half-acre lots were laid
off on part of the tract of land and sold to pay for the construction of the
public building of the county. The original courthouse burned and the present
brick one was built and occupied around 1824. A plaque in this courthouse reads
as follows:
GEORGE HAIRSTON
1750
-1827
COLONEL
IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
BRIGADIER
GENERAL, WAR OF 1812
JUSTICE
HENRY COUNTY COURT
PATRIOTIC
BENEFACTOR
WHO
GAVE THE LAND AND PROVIDED
THE
MEANS TO BUILD THE COURT
HOUSE
AND OTHER PUBLIC BUILDING
OF
HENRY COUNTY, VIRGINIA
THIS
MEMORIAL ERECTED BY HIS DESCENDANTS
George Hairston also gave the land on which the First Methodist Church in
Martinsville was erected. In 1939 his descendants gave the following plaque as a
memorial to George Hairston, and it hangs in the church today.
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF
GEORGE
HAIRSTON
1750-1827
WHO
GAVE THE SITE ON WHICH THIS
CHURCH
STANDS
THIS
MEMORIAL WAS GIVEN BY HIS
DESCENDANTS
1939
by Carolyn Henderson, Libba Johnson and Robert E. Hairston, Jr.
A new book has recently been published by Peter Wilson Hairston called "THE STORIES OF BEAVER CREEK". It is available by sending a check for $24.00 to Desmond Kendrick, Archivist, Henry County, VA, 111 Fairy Street, Martinsville, Henry County, Virginia 24112.