If you look down the left sidebar you will also notice an ad describing a home for sale. No, I have not gone commercial. That is an unpaid ad that I have placed for a friend. I still do not accept commercial advertising of any kind on this site.
Now, let's talk about that home for sale for a moment. It belongs to and was built by the Marvin & Lois Mast family in Fauquier County. Located in picturesque, rural Fauquier County near Catlett, Virginia. It is located 46 miles from Washington D.C., and 14 miles from both Manassas and Warrenton, Virginia. Also, it is only 82 miles from Richmond, Virginia.The house is a slightly modified design by Steven Fuller, in the Southern Living Homes collection of designs. Blythewood Estate is a 7000-square foot manor set on a hilltop with a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It overlooks a 2-3 acre stocked lake and is sited on a 20 acre property which includes a rolling meadow and wooded area. I'll let Hans Mast, the son of the owners and writer and publisher of The Not So Daily Me further describe the property.
Construction on the Blythewood started on May 14, 1999. Marvin served as a general contractor and sub-contracted the work out. General contracting was Marvin's career approximately 20 years ago. He really sweated every detail and did far more work than any hired hand would have done to make sure everything was just right. The family spent many a Saturday over at the new house cleaning up. Handily we lived only a 1/4 mile down the road and we were constantly at the building site. We have a large photo album showing all phases of construction.Hans details much more of the Civil War history of the site here, at his website. Further details regarding the sale of the property are available here [LINK]
Several builders who have been through the house have commented on the craftsmanship they saw. Four things that have received especial praise are the custom trim work, the brick work, the stone fireplace, and the hardwood floors. The trim was milled by a local outfit and was installed by a long-time friend of the family's. The brick work was done by Marvin's brother-in-law, who traveled up from North Carolina to do the fireplaces and front porch. A framing crew from Orange, VA which was run by a cousin of the family's did the framing. In each case, Marvin spent long hours thoroughly researching each decision to make sure the best one was made. The house was finished and we moved in one year and one day later, on May 15, 2000.Catlett's Station, Catlett - J.E.B. Stuart's cavalrymen attacked this Union supply depot Aug. 22, 1862, capturing, among other things, Federal commander John Pope's cloak, hat and dispatch book. Intelligence gathered here helped Stonewall Jackson plan his Second Manassas campaign.Blythewood Estate is rich in Civil War history. Old timers tell us that the hill upon which Blythewood is built was the largest Confederate camp for miles around and that General Mosby stayed in a cabin nearby (see further note on this at the end). Friends of ours who are avid Civil War history buffs and metal detector operators hurriedly went over Blythewood one afternoon and found a wealth of Civil War artifacts including tens of bullets, cavalry horseshoes, uniform buttons, buckles, and several other things. We are located less than a mile from Weaversville, which during the Civil War had a U.S.A. General Hospital. Catlett's Station is only 2.1 miles away. Many battles were fought over it because railroad stations were the key link in moving supplies.
Hans, I wish you well during your upcoming travels to Southeast Asia, and I hope your family will soon be happily resettled in Kansas.
No comments:
Post a Comment