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overseer asked to borrow one of the tools, Lion refused. The overseer attacked him, and Lion killed the man with a shovel he was using to chop kindling. Lion fled the plantation, and hid in a nearby forest for two months. Eventually, unwilling to go North without his family, Lion turned himself in. He was sentenced to hang, and was shot while trying to escape.
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and Ruth
Stovall Hairston, on a 30,000-plus acre royal land grant initially purchased from Col. Abram Penn. The original house was destroyed by fire in 1837 and was rebuilt while owned by George Hairston's son Marshall, whose profile according to family legend was incised on a window of the home when
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Much of the plantation's rich slave history remains intact, and stories of unusual slaves are well documented and accessible. Often noted is the tale of Sam Lion, a field hand on the plantation. Over the years, Lion had earned enough extra money to buy his own woodworking tools. However, when a new
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were typically few, Beaver Creek was almost home to such an uprising. In 1812, a slave named Tom murdered a neighbor of George
Hairston's plantation. Through his confession, Hairston discovered a plot to poison himself and neighboring slaveholders, a rebellion that would have been disguised by an
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The
Hairston family, who had Beaver Creek built, eventually came to control tens of thousands of acres of land in Virginia, North Carolina and elsewhere across the South. Initially planters of tobacco, the family eventually became the largest slaveholders in the South: the engine of their
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extraordinary wealth (they were said to be one of the wealthiest families in
America) was the propagation of slaves for export to the Deep South. The family married into other prominent local families, including several intermarriages with the descendants of General
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was not built until 1837, to replace the original home destroyed in a fire. Today, the house is owned by Bank
Services of Virginia, and the home and gardens are usually open to the public during the Historic Garden Week in Virginia.
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Ultimately, the fallout from the Civil War, chiefly the emancipation of slaves, put an end to the
Hairston's booming business and the family's fortunes dwindled. At the center of the Plantation is the Hairston's
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and the center of an empire in tobacco-growing and slave-trading built by the
Hairston family, Scottish emigrants to Pennsylvania in the early 18th century. Located just outside today's
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Like Lion, other slaves were able to earn small amounts of money outside of their daily duties. Ned and Clem, two wagon masters, earned money by hauling extra loads for other
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553:"The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White," Henry Wiencek, Macmillan, New York, 2000 (winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award)
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Beaver Creek
Plantation, National Register of Historic Places Inventory, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service
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306:, home of George W. Hairston, c. 1909. Part of the empire of Hairston homes and plantations scattered about the South
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Hairston, Men of Mark in
Virginia, Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Vol. IV, Men of Mark Publishing Co., Washington, D.C. 1908
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History of
Patrick and Henry Counties, Virginia, Virginia G. Pedigo, Lewis Gravely Pedigo, Clearfield, 1990
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for America, initially locating in Pennsylvania and eventually moving south to Virginia in the 1740s.
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The Hairston name is of Scottish origin but has apparently died out today in Scotland.
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A street in nearby Martinsville, Sam Lions Trail, is named for the slave Sam Lion.
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Information on the Beaver Creek Plantation from Virginia African Heritage Program
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he was struck by lightning. The house was rebuilt using virgin oak from nearby
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Beaver Creek was built in 1776 under the ownership of George Hairston, son of
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481:"Scotland's slave trade ties are writ large in story of Hairstons"
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mansion. Although the plantation was founded in 1776, the present
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National Register of Historic Places in Henry County, Virginia
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Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
397:. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from
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The Hairston family descends from Peter Hairston, who left
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History of the National Register of Historic Places
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600:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
38:U.S. National Register of Historic Places
16:Historic house in Virginia, United States
1417:Tobacco plantations in the United States
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371:"National Register Information System"
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1407:Scottish-American culture in Virginia
1387:Neoclassical architecture in Virginia
420:Beaver Creek Plantation, hairston.org
295:expected British attack in the area.
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537:Beaver Creek Plantation hairston.org
376:National Register of Historic Places
251:, was a large slave-holding tobacco
514:- Virginia African Heritage Program
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1397:Houses in Henry County, Virginia
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1402:Plantation houses in Virginia
395:"Virginia Landmarks Register"
116:Show map of the United States
19:United States historic place
1328:National Historic Landmarks
304:Lowndes County, Mississippi
47:Virginia Landmarks Register
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198:NRHP reference
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1392:Houses completed in 1839
504:Beaver Creek Plantation
190:Architectural style
177:11.7 acres (4.7 ha)
245:Beaver Creek Plantation
30:Beaver Creek Plantation
1341:Keeper of the Register
1253:Poquoson (no listings)
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338:Henry County, Virginia
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257:Martinsville, Virginia
131:Martinsville, Virginia
1361:Contributing property
381:National Park Service
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302:Hairston Plantation,
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158:36.71944°N 79.88111°W
91:Show map of Virginia
235:Designated VLR
163:36.71944; -79.88111
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530:2007-09-27 at the
510:2007-09-27 at the
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64:Front of the house
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1356:Historic district
487:. August 21, 2019
447:978-0-8063-8010-0
383:. March 13, 2009.
346:classical revival
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193:Classical Revival
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1302:Williamsburg
1234:Newport News
1229:Martinsville
1199:Harrisonburg
1174:Falls Church
1075:Westmoreland
1040:Spotsylvania
990:Rappahannock
960:Pittsylvania
865:King William
720:Chesterfield
710:Charles City
489:. Retrieved
485:Scotsman.com
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403:. Retrieved
399:the original
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274:Henry County
266:
244:
243:
1316:Other lists
1134:Buena Vista
1035:Southampton
930:Northampton
905:Mecklenburg
860:King George
815:Greensville
491:November 3,
230:May 9, 1985
161: /
137:Coordinates
1376:Categories
1307:Winchester
1297:Waynesboro
1257:Portsmouth
1249:Petersburg
1144:Chesapeake
1124:Alexandria
1070:Washington
1025:Shenandoah
1010:Rockingham
1005:Rockbridge
915:Montgomery
850:James City
795:Gloucester
740:Cumberland
690:Buckingham
645:Appomattox
357:References
334:Hordsville
253:plantation
149:79°52′52″W
146:36°43′10″N
1214:Lynchburg
1209:Lexington
1154:Covington
910:Middlesex
890:Lunenburg
870:Lancaster
800:Goochland
785:Frederick
750:Dinwiddie
745:Dickenson
715:Charlotte
680:Brunswick
675:Botetourt
650:Arlington
630:Alleghany
625:Albemarle
613:by county
564:Cooleemee
290:Although
276:forests.
211:VLR
1282:Staunton
1267:Richmond
1219:Manassas
1204:Hopewell
1179:Franklin
1159:Danville
1060:Tazewell
1045:Stafford
995:Richmond
965:Powhatan
940:Nottoway
925:New Kent
840:Highland
780:Franklin
775:Fluvanna
765:Fauquier
735:Culpeper
700:Caroline
695:Campbell
685:Buchanan
620:Accomack
604:Virginia
558:See also
528:Archived
508:Archived
324:Scotland
317:Congress
285:planters
217:044-0001
205:85000984
129:VA 108,
126:Location
1323:Bridges
1287:Suffolk
1272:Roanoke
1262:Radford
1239:Norfolk
1194:Hampton
1169:Fairfax
1164:Emporia
1129:Bristol
1117:by city
1015:Russell
1000:Roanoke
985:Pulaski
955:Patrick
900:Mathews
895:Madison
880:Loudoun
830:Henrico
825:Hanover
820:Halifax
805:Grayson
760:Fairfax
705:Carroll
665:Bedford
655:Augusta
640:Amherst
263:History
1244:Norton
1065:Warren
1055:Sussex
945:Orange
920:Nelson
885:Louisa
810:Greene
725:Clarke
635:Amelia
445:
405:5 June
1277:Salem
1189:Galax
1115:Lists
1085:Wythe
1050:Surry
1030:Smyth
1020:Scott
835:Henry
790:Giles
770:Floyd
755:Essex
730:Craig
670:Bland
611:Lists
350:house
182:Built
1090:York
1080:Wise
950:Page
660:Bath
493:2020
443:ISBN
407:2013
185:1839
174:Area
875:Lee
602:in
213:No.
200:No.
1378::
483:.
379:.
373:.
319:.
592:e
585:t
578:v
495:.
409:.
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