We are taking a looking at houses and farms along Trappe Road north of Upperville. Today, we finish up with Part Six, a look at the village of Trappe, sometimes referred to as the Trappe.
The drive from Cleremont to Trappe is a short one. We are now about four miles north of Upperville and four miles south of Bluemont and Snicker’s Gap. With Trappe Road heading due north, and the mountains running to the northeast, we are as close to the mountains as you will get in these parts. It gives Trappe a unique look and feel.
Trappe is indeed a fascinating bird, a half crossroads if you will. From the eagle’s view, the set of looping roads looks like some sort of bird skeleton. The Jeffries Branch which has been running through the farms and elusive on our drives, finally flows by. It was surely once an oasis here.
And the name origin, which we will get to in a moment.
Perhaps confusing to some through the years, Trappe Road keeps its name when it turns from due north to due east. But there is an historical reason, captured by the nomination form for the Southwest Loudoun Rural Roads.
They write:
"A middle path, known as Shinnet’s Path, crossed through the village of Trappe… Shinnett’s Path would evolve to become the local thoroughfares of Trappe Road and others.”
The origin of the name Trappe is shrouded in mystery. Scheel offers up three possibilities. The first is the easiest to tell and he calls it the most plausible. In short, it involves Rawleigh Colston and his French wife who lived here in the first part of the eighteenth century. Apparently she missed Paris so much she went back, but not before calling the place - Le Trappe.
It’s possible none of these stabs are correct, but Colston is certainly in the word cloud in these parts. The NRHP form tells us he was part of the Marshall Syndicate of John Marshall (1775-1836), his brother James Markham, and their brother-in-law, Colston) that acquired land in 1793 in around what is now Llangollen.
As small as it is, Trappe has two distinct sections. In the cluster just west of the road is five or so homes. With no access to see them due to the Private Entrance sign, I use the web to find out three of them are valued at over $2M.
Up on the hill lies Trappe Hill Farm. Valued at $4M, it shows you can be away from Middleburg and still have higher value. It boasts 13 stalls and has something many mansions in these parts does not have - a steep hillside view from the most western part. Built in 1960, square footage is 4,680 and acreage 474. Throw in a pond below and someone is sitting pretty.
Heading east on Trappe Road, I cross over Jeffries Branch on a one-lane bridge. Now we’re in the other part of Trappe, the East Side if you will, where Scheel has identified the site of Colston’s Mill, and the buildings that held Grimes’s Shop and Ross’s Store/Trappe Post Office.
Where Colston’s Mill might have stood I see nothing except some large cut stones. Perhaps they are the sole remnants.
On top of a small hill, partially hidden by trees, I see an older structure. Perhaps this is where Grimes’s Shop would have been. Scheel tells us Bob Grimes was the blacksmith there from the 1890s to the closing in the late 1920s.
A search of the web shows this as 20541 Trappe Road and home to the Eastern Region Andalusian Horse Club. These beauts descend from the Spanish region of Analusia. Wiki tells us they are known for their “arched neck, muscular build and energetic gaits” and have appeared in historical and fantasy epic films. Would love to see one or more but the Eyes (a Private Entrance sign) wield their power once again.
Up the short hill we go, fingers crossed that Ross’s old store is still there and that we can see it.
Yes, Lady Luck is smiling. It is close, it is still there, it is still beautifully old, and it matches perfectly with the photo Scheel provides in his book. A car is parked out front so we take the quick photo and move ahead to bask in our delight.
Scheel tells us more about Trappe. He begins with Townsend Frasier Sr. (1822-1907). He also touched briefly on him in an article in The Washington Post (From the Mysterious to the Mundane, 'The Mountain' Has Weathered It All, October 6, 2001).
Frasier earned some local fame. He served as a longtime supervisor for the Mercer District and was known as the “Cattle King of Loudoun County.” His former land near Mount Weather and just west of today’s The View at Bluemont was named Frasier’s Hill.
The business generated by Frasier led to Trappe getting a post office and store in 1876. Philip Hutchinson ran both before Joseph Ross took the helm. The population was 36.
In 1887, Fenton T. Ross, son of Joseph, was the man behind the counter. Mail service stopped in 1907. A guess is the residents went to Bluemont.
Scheel writes that many regulars came to the store and post office, including “mountain men” and clerk John Beavers. African Americans were customers, perhaps all living in or near Howardsville. The doors shuttered in 1934, no doubt a sad sight.
Scheel also writes there was a school across the street from the store. The lot is vacant. Mildred Hoge was the last teacher who rode on horseback to the school from her house in Unison, five miles away. The school closed in 1925.
The old store is bookended by two charming old beauts that have been kept up nicely. 20532 shows being built in 1740. 202526 sports a sign - Guest House at the Trappe - also showing 1740. Their views of horse and hunt country southward are breath taking.
Google maps shows Trappe Road ahead with two legs. One turns left and continues its northern track up to Bluemont. We will leave that one for another day and instead take the Trappe Road that continues eastward to Greengarden Road (We noted earlier that this was part of the old Shinnit’s path).
Greengarden Road will be our next trip write up, hopefully coming soon.
With one last look over to the mountains, we wave goodbye to these lovely lands. Thank you to all the keepers, residents, and story tellers. We wave goodbye and leave feeling pleased, satisfied, and nourished.
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