THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 19, 1994 TAG: 9407190321
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAPE CHARLES LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
George Washington's wife inherited it. Robert E. Lee's wife looked there for her roots. Now, if everything goes as planned, Patrick Hand of Virginia Beach will own historic Arlington farm.
Hand, a 37-year-old house designer and builder, recently signed a contract to buy 322 acres fronting on Chesapeake Bay and Old Plantation Creek. List price for the farm was $1.5 million. When asked how much he agreed to pay for Arlington, all Hand would say was: ``A lot of money.''
Arlington's saga dates to the early days of colonial Virginia. Archeologists have found Native American burial artifacts there, and possible evidence of a Virginia Company settlement in the early 1600s.
John Custis II bought the plantation in 1658 and built a 3-story brick mansion that was comparable to Bacon's Castle, its contemporary in Surry County. In 1686, during Bacon's Rebellion, Gov. William Berkeley and the House of Burgesses all fled to Arlington. For six weeks, the Northampton County farm was the capital of Virginia.
Martha Custis, who later married George Washington, inherited Arlington when her first husband, Daniel Parke Custis, died. He was the great-grandson of the man who built the mansion. Martha's great-granddaughter, a Custis, married Robert E. Lee.
In contrast to its illustrious past, Arlington's recent history has been downright seedy. Vincent DiCanio, a developer from Long Island, bought the property in the 1980s and built a handful of tract-style homes and models. He filed for bankruptcy in 1991.
Archeologists trying to explore the Arlington mansion foundation at that time were unable to dig and were concerned that a delay might ruin precious artifacts. The mansion was destroyed by fires, probably before 1800.
Subsequent zoning decisions by the county Board of Supervisors scuttled offers by two prominent developers who wanted to buy the land and build relatively high-density housing. Hand has different plans for the property.
``I would hate it if it were developed the way they had planned,'' Hand said. ``It would be a crime, in my opinion.''
Hand did not buy the entire 700-acre, two-farm parcel owned by DiCanio. Bill Parr of Parr Properties said Hand has a contract just on the waterfront acreage historically known as Arlington.
Hand said he intends to sell the 45 small lots that have already been platted, but divide the rest of the land into much larger lots for retirement homes. The new homes will have covenants to guide construction, but Hand isn't sure yet exactly what those covenants would be.
``I know what I don't want there: it's like the model homes look like,'' he said. ``Long Island can keep those.''
Prices for the existing lots will run from $10,000 to $50,000. Hand said he hopes the ``very attractive prices'' will encourage buyers to purchase more than one lot, thus reducing the subdivision's density. He intends to build a home for himself on the southern part of the property.
Although the deal isn't settled, Hand already has a tractor and a brush-cutting machine working on the property. He plans to plant 1,000 trees in November. There will be a common area at the mouth of Old Plantation Creek.
As for the Custis tombs and remnants of the mansion, their future has not been decided. Hand said he hopes historical groups will be interested in buying the site. If archeologists succeed in their attempts to draw pictures of the original Arlington mansion, he might try to re-create the home on his southern tract.
``That would be a fun project,'' Hand said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ROBIE RAY/Staff file
Arlington farm, a 322-acre tract along the Chesapeake Bay and Old
Plantation Creek that is steeped in Colonial history, has a list
price of $1.5 million.
Map
STAFF
by CNB