“The hunt was to change the social and economic status of several of the surrounding working farms to gentry estates where horse breeding and racehorse training occurred. The lure of the Piedmont convinced many to purchase old Virginia properties and convey the traditions associated with the hunting season to the area. New affluent property owners infused funds into the restoration and expansion of existing Upperville houses.” - National Register for Historic Places form, Upperville Historic District
“… from cold, stern Massachusetts he brought the fine, energetic spirits of New England into the mellow, leisurely South where it fitted snugly and gracefully and found an affinity." - Eugene Scheel (“Homeland Hounds Proved Their Mettle,” The Washington Post, November 5, 2006), paying tribute to Harry Worcester Smith.
“This hound match possibly called together the most representative gathering of fox hunters of recent times, for at many of the meets there were from seventy-five to eighty-five persons all superbly mounted, while representatives of twenty-six hunts witnessed the match.” — Allan Potts, Richmond-Times Dispatch
It could be said the “Middleburg Mystique,” the fascination with horse and hunt country in Loudoun and Fauquier counties, has had two main phases. In her book by that name, Vicky Moon gives all the inside scoops for the second phase. The getaway visits by the Kennedys were part of those distinct, middle-century chapters and novelists such as local resident Jan Neuharth put their readers in Middleburg realms.
Forgotten is the first phase and how and when the story began. Enter Martha Wolfe and her 2016 book, “The Great Hound Match of 1905.”
Let’s see what she has to say.
This story got started in 1904 when Harry Worcester Smith (1865-1945) wrote a letter to the Editor of Rider and Driver magazine. Smith had parlayed his textile patents, including the Automatic Color Loom, into becoming a millionaire. He lived in his estate, Lordvale, in Grafton, Massachusetts. Wolfe writes Smith was considered “the gentleman rider in America.” He won a number of cups in steeplechasing and would later write essays, articles, and books, including the highly-praised, “A Sporting Family of the Old South.” In 1907, Smith would organize the Masters of Foxhounds Association.
Photo: Museum of Hounds and Hunting, Morven Park
At the time of the match, there were two kinds of fox hounds. The English were larger and pure bred. Smith wanted equal recognition for the American southern breed he considered leaner and tougher, and, as he proclaimed, better at catching foxes.
Alexander Henry Higginson (1876-1958), of South Lincoln, Massachusetts, touted the English fox hound. In his letter to Rider and Driver, he wrote: “There is but one breed of genuine bloodhounds and that is English.”
Note: Higginson is on the left on the cover.
A friend of his, Julian Ingersoll Chamberlain, described the American hound as “weedy and chance-bred.” In 1908, the two would write, “The Hunts of The United States and Canada.” They note that Loudoun and Fauquier counties “comprise what is the best natural fox-hunting territory in the United States today.”
Like Smith, Higginson fell in love with fox hunting. Wolfe quotes him as saying - “I think of it, dream of it, talk of all the time.” He built a library full of books on the English hounds.
Higginson’s desires were funded by his wealthy parents and philanthropists, Henry Lee Higginson (1834-1919) and Ida Agassiz Higginson. Wolfe does a terrific job of telling the family story. His father who would go on to become founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, fought (Major) with the 1st Massachusetts during the Civil War. In June 1863, Henry was with them at Aldie, a village east of Middleburg. During the Battle of Aldie (June 17, 1863), Henry was wounded in hand to hand combat, with several sword cuts and a bullet lodged at the base of his spine.
After the war, Henry Lee Higginson returned to Boston and married Ida Agassiz. Her father was Louis Agassiz, described as the most famous scientist of his time (“Louis Agassiz, Creator of American Science” by Christoph Irmscher).
Higginson’s parents built him a mansion, stables, and kennels, in South Lincoln, just west of Boston. The estate was named Middlesex. In the coverage of the hunts, the press referred to the match as between Higginson’s Middlesex and Smith’s Grafton hounds.
Higginson touted the British foxhound. In his letter to Rider and Driver, Smith challenged Higginson to a match. It would take place in and around Middleburg in the first half of November, 1905.
In 1893, Smith had fallen in love with fox hunting. He went to visit the Dulany family, whose generations have owned the Welbourne mansion (four miles west of Middleburg) since 1833. The hound masters there were Colonel Richard Dulany and his son Richard Hunter Dulany. Also observing during the matches was Rozier Dulany, a nephew of Colonel Dulany.
Photo: Welbourne, by the author.
Smith put together a pack of hounds from Virginia and Kentucky. He bought some Virginia ones from Burrell Frank Bywaters (1848-1922), who lived in Culpepper County. The Rappahannock Hunt is proud of his legacy, calling him one of the most famous breeders in America.
Smith bred hounds that, “conformed as far as color and markings, but he was not willing to conform to the English hounds hunting techniques, voice, size, and drive.”
Higgenson touted ones he had bred from a stock in the Midlands. Observers noted they were bigger and stayed together in the pack more than the American ones.
In February, 1904, Higginson proposed a match to settle the score. Whichever type killed the most foxes would be declared the winner.
Sporting boasts can seem immature and sophomoric, but they can have big impacts. Everyday Americans knew where Washington and Mount Vernon were located, but Middleburg and Upperville, still sparsely populated today, were unknown places to most across the country. This part of northern Virginia had seen action during the Civil War, but they were not major battles.
With the bragging going back and forth, the major papers covered the debate and story. Each side wagered $1,000 for the winner take all. It was determined the area around Middleburg was the best place to prove the worth of the hounds.
Middleburg was relatively unknown, but a number of fox hunting clubs had long been established in northern Virginia, and the Piedmont land had been compared to traditional hunt country in Leicestershire, England. The hunt clubs who came to the matches from Virginia were the Piedmont Fox Hounds, Keswick, Deep Run, Cameron Run, Blue Ridge, Warrenton, Orange County, Loudoun and Mr. Miller’s Hounds.
There was individual talent in the midst, too. One of the three judges chosen was James K. Maddux of Warrenton. He served as first Master of Fox Hounds of the Warrenton Hunt. Kitty Slater wrote of him - “his hunting and steeplechase exploits were legion.” Among his colt picks were Man o’ War in 1918 for Samuel D. Riddle of Philadelphia.
Filling a critical role was Allen T. Potts, Managing Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He served as Honorary Clerk or recorder of the chases (not many writer-riders around)…
Potts would go on to author the acclaimed,“Fox Hunting in America” in 1912. His wife, Mrs. Gertrude Rives Potts, earned fame as the first woman Master of Fox Hounds (Castle Hill Hounds near Gordonsville) and was an esteemed horse breeder and rider.
On October 31, 1905, six men met at the Piedmont Inn in Upperville to formalize the hunts. The judges were Maddux, MFH of the Warrenton Hunt; Charles McEachran, MFH Montreal Hunt; and Mal Movius, Brandywine in Philadelphia.
Potts would observe and report. The two sides would hunt alternate days for two weeks, starting November 1, with Sundays a day of rest.
Locations
Perhaps a frustration for the reader is not knowing exactly where the races took place. The author does include a portion of a Piedmont Hunt territory map prepared by Smith and Dulany before the match.
We went through Wolfe’s day-by-day account and came up with the following map. It gives one a basic idea of where each day’s hunt took place. Most of the action took place in Loudoun County, whose southern border is mostly Route 50.
Map: By Author.
The patriarch of Welbourne was Colonel Richard H. Dulany. He founded the Piedmont Foxhounds in 1840 and the Upperville Colt and Horse Show in 1853. The Piedmont Foxhounds is the oldest established hunt in the US and the Upperville Colt and Horse Show, perhaps the first organized horse show in the US.
Photo: Inside Welbourne, now a Bed & Breakfast.
No one was bestowed more reverence than Dulany. The family name was held high in both Virginia and Maryland. His grandfather, Benjamin Tasker Dulany (1752-1816), loaned George Washington his famous white Arabian horse, “Blueskin,” for use during the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Tasker Dulany lived in Alexandria (S. St Asaph and Duke) and on Shuter's Hill overlooking the seaport.
There were only a few inns around and they were kept busy during the entire time of the matches. Wolfe writes people slept in makeshift accommodations. As many as fifty people followed along each day, some in buggies.
Goose Creek Stone Bridge was the starting point several times.
Photo: Goose Creek Stone Bridge. By the author.
Pot House is mentioned, which was synonymous with Leithton, north of Middleburg. One of the wealthy northerners who came down after the Match was Joseph B. Thomas. He enlarged a small house there and renamed it Huntland. Thomas also built large kennels and immersed himself in breeding hounds.
Middleburg and Aldie are also mentioned as well as Mountville. On one day the hunt went as far east as the Oatlands, on today's Highway 15. They also dipped down into Fauquier County. South of Route 50, Oakley is mentioned, as well as the Fletcher farm and Cromwell Run. Some of this area is now Oak Spring, former home of the Mellons.
Also mentioned is Zulla, "an estate ten miles south of Upperville to hunt on the road to the Plains." Eugene Scheel tells us there are no remains of Zulla, which was a village between Belvoir and the Loudoun line. George Zulla was a resident in 1890. The previous name had been Cotland. There is a Zulla Road which connects The Plains and Middleburg.
Rectortown is not mentioned, but some of the press reports were datelined with Rectortown. This is where the train station was located, where everyone got off and then made their way up to Upperville and Middleburg.
Days of the Hunts
Wolfe gives coverage of each day’s events. Day One was November 1 (Wednesday). Day 12, the last, was November 14 (Tuesday). The two Sundays were days off. The hunts alternated. Higginson’s Middlesex pack started on Day 1. Smith’s Grafton’s hound hunted Day 2 and so on.
Women
Wolfe also devotes a chapter to the women riders.
“From day one women in the match were phenomenal. The Match was an incomparable opportunity for fox hunting women to show their stuff.”
Distinguishing themselves were Gertrude Allen Potts of Richmond who was the only woman Master and Hunstman in the US at the time, and Mrs. Westmoreland Davis who brought six hunters. Visitors to Morven Park in Leesburg can learn more about her.
Miss Dulany from Upperville also knew her way around the creeks and and fences.
Higginson wrote:
"I like to remember the way those gallant ladies rode in the field - stopping for nothing, turning aside for nothing, riding straight to the sea."
In his article, Eugene Scheel wrote:
"The party typically numbered 30 or more riders, a fifth of them women."
Outcome
Despite hunting six times each, nary a fox was killed. There was one case of a farmer letting out a sick or old fox right in front of the hounds. A sad thing, but that kill did not count.
This left the decision in the hand of the judges. By the fireplace at Welbourne, they announced:
“We award the match and stack together with the Townsend Cup to the Grafton Pack, which in our opinion, has done the best work.”
As Wolfe writes:
“Since the decision of the judges was in the end somewhat subjective, the question of which was better - has never really been answered.”
Aftermath
As Wolfe quips, the foxes won. On a more serious note, she points out the town of Middleburg won.
“Almost immediately its fortunes began to rise. No longer would it be a forgotten, creek-crossed, dirt-roaded, don’t-blink-or-your-eyes-will-miss-it backwater.”
Wealthy and prominent people such as Brigadier General James Buchanan acquired land there. He bought Ayrshire outside of Upperville. As mentioned Boston-born and Yale graduate Joseph B. Thomas turned Huntland into a fox-hunting mecca. In 1914, Edward M. Weld, a Harvard educated Wall Street broker, acquired North Wales, a five-bay stone Georgian mansion in Warrenton (c. 1796). He added a carriage house, equestrian center, stables, barns, offices, tenant houses, landscaping and gardens, and brought the room total to 72. Others also modernized and expanded an older house. Most or many participated in fox-hunting.
They kept coming, including the most wealthy of all, Paul Mellon, who married Bunny Lambert. They built and lived at Oak Spring, raised horses at Rokeby, and hosted A-list parties. Their philanthropy, including funding the construction of a new church in Upperville, was beyond compare.
Photo: Oak Spring by author.
In the first part of the 1960s, the Kennedys arrived and sparked big time attention for Middleburg and nearby. Taking it all in, perhaps some of the graybeard history buffs leaned back, took a puff from their pipe, and observed that a half century earlier, two other notables from Massachusetts had put reporters and observers on those quiet, stone-stacked lanes and sloping Piedmont lands that make up this magical place.
Thanks to Martha Wolfe, we know how the story got started...
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