ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608290041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MOUNT JACKSON (AP)
SOURCE: WES ALLISON RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
An old stone wall parallels the narrow drive that winds up the western slope of Massanutten Mountain, stopping to rest at a 200-year-old gray stone mansion surrounded by hardwood forests and highland pastures.
Below the house, along the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, stretch hundreds of acres of some of the most productive land in Virginia.
Mount Airy, a fabled farm deeply rooted in Virginia and local history, is Shenandoah County's largest parcel, at 2,572 acres. The Civil War raged around it, and Stonewall Jackson called it one of the most magnificent farms anywhere.
Its long list of owners includes gentlemen farmers, hard-working farm families, a Vanderbilt and the granddaughter of an early owner who regained the estate for her clan.
Now, less than 10 years after they bought Mount Airy, a family set upon by hard luck and untimely death has put it up for sale again. The asking price is $5.2 million.
Many of Virginia's expensive, historic rural retreats are valued for their architecture, historical significance or grandeur, such as Cedar Grove Plantation near Clarksville or Berry Hill, a Greek revival mansion in Halifax County.
Mount Airy, however, is different, and Realtor G. Otis Mead III hopes to capitalize on what the estate can provide its owners: The 822 acres of river bottom, called Meem's Bottom, is famed for its fertility, and it traditionally posts record yields for corn, wheat and other crops.
``The driving value is agriculture,'' said Mead, a Lexington real estate broker. ``The agriculture is going to sell it, and sustain it.''
Edward M. ``Ned'' Conklin, a retired Shenandoah County extension agent, said the river bottom, as flat as a pool table, boasts extraordinarily deep and fertile topsoil.
``This place is probably one of the largest acreages of prime agricultural land in the state, and certainly in the Valley,'' he said.
The land in Meem's Bottom - about the size of 250 football fields - is capable of producing more than 200 bushels of corn per acre and more than 120 bushels of wheat, he said. That's about twice the county average.
The North Fork fronts the property for 2.3 miles before meeting Smith Creek at the north side of the farm. Through the centuries, sediment from floods has added topsoil like layers on a cake.
Conklin said he's driven a 5-foot soil auger to the hilt without hitting anything but loam.
Upland, there's timber and more crop land, and some 400 acres of bluegrass pasture for sheep and cattle.
``It's a unique property,'' Conklin said. ``Not only for the productivity, but for the sheer number of acres ... in one spot of highly productive land.''
Today, the farm has 10 homes in addition to the main mansion and the large brick manager's house, as well as a number of outbuildings. The estate is barely a mile south of the town of Mount Jackson, and less than two miles from Interstate 81.
Written accounts of the estate abound, and recollections from the 19th century are littered with tales of deer, bird and fox hunting, as well as dances, parties and late-night jams with banjo and fiddle.
Until two years ago, Mount Airy was home to a rite of fall, the Shenandoah Races. Photos of past steeplechases show smartly dressed riders in red blazers guiding their mounts over fences as Bloody Marys flow freely among thousands of tailgaters.
Mount Airy and nearby Rude's Hill, which overlooks the farm, also were landmarks during the Valley campaigns of the Civil War, and plows still turn up lead shot and gear.
``This is a beautiful county," Gen. T.J. ``Stonewall'' Jackson wrote in his journal on March 28, 1862, while staying at Rude's Hill. "The celebrated Meem farm is near here, and is the most magnificent one that I know of anywhere.''
The farm dates to 1772, when Taverner Beale, the first high sheriff of Dunmore County - now Shenandoah County - bought the tract between the North Fork and Smith Creek.
He named the land Mount Airy, after the great Rappahannock River plantation of his hometown back east. It later was formally renamed Dunmore Mount Airy to avoid confusion.
Mount Airy has been on the market for a year, but selling a major piece of property can take time.
Mead said he has three strong prospects, including a European farmer, some Californians, and a group dedicated to conservation.
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