White Post, Virginia Explained

White Post, Virginia
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:USA Virginia Northern#USA Virginia#USA
Pushpin Label:White
Post
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within the Commonwealth of Virginia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2: Clarke
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Coordinates:39.0569°N -78.1036°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP codes
Postal Code:22663
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID

White Post is an unincorporated community in Clarke County, Virginia. White Post is located at the crossroads of White Post Road and Berrys Ferry Road off Lord Fairfax Highway (U.S. Route 340).

In the 1730s, Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1693–1781), the major landowner in the lower Shenandoah Valley through an inheritance from his mother Catherine Culpeper, Lady Fairfax, settled here and built his "Greenway Court" manor home.[1] According to a tradition currently inscribed on a bronze plaque affixed to the post, then Col. George Washington set the original post to guide travelers to Lord Fairfax's residence. Greenway Court plantation was unusual in that Lord Fairfax was titled and residing in the colony. Ethnic German and Scots-Irish subsistence farmers, many of them recent immigrants, settled in the area, as well as the Meade, Randolph and Burwell families, which were among the First Families of Virginia. Although the original Anglican church for the community was at Old Chapel several miles away, by the late 19th century, Meade Memorial Church (Episcopal), a Methodist church and Masonic Lodge were all established near the intersection that gave the community its name.

In addition to Greenway Court, the Bethel Memorial Church, Farnley, Guilford, Lucky Hit, Meadea, The Tuleyries, and the White Post Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Brown , Stuart E. . 1965. Berryville, Virginia: Chesapeake Book Company.