New findings add to intrigue of historical Morven estate

The meadows and woodlands of Morven looked especially lush and vibrant after a recent spring rain.

Laura Voisin George, director of research at the 2,913-acre estate south of Charlottesville, stood on a favorite vantage point overlooking green fields. In the distance could be seen a large white horse barn and a copse of trees behind which she knew ran a stream.

The beauty was starkly evident, but it’s the invisible and yet to be found history of this place that drives George to learn more and more about it. What she and others have uncovered so far is intriguing and generating further research and archaeological study.

George’s position on the side of the knoll afforded her a panoramic view of an area where 10 100-acre tenant farms had long ago been laid out by Thomas Jefferson. It was Jefferson who in 1795 had purchased Morven on behalf of William Short, whom he affectionately referred to as his “adoptive son.”

Short had been Jefferson’s private secretary from 1785 to 1789, when the future president was serving as U.S. minister to France. At the time of the purchase, Short was living in Paris while serving as an American diplomat.

The tract of land that would become Morven, a Scottish word for “ridge of hills,” was originally part of a 10,000-acre royal land grant made in 1730 to William Champe Carter. Before the name change, Morven was called Indian Camp.

In a letter to Short, Jefferson writes, “I bought the Indian Camp for you because you have expressed some partiality for our neighborhood and climate … there are no lands in this state of equal fertility and equal advantages.”

Short, a Virginian himself, having been born in Surry County on Sept. 30, 1759, apparently saw his new land as an opportunity not to advance merely himself, but an entire race. He envisioned a laboratory of sorts where human chemistry could be examined in the beakers of reality, and from which would be distilled the truth as it related to the human spirit of blacks.

“What Short did was propose an idea for an experiment to Jefferson, that was taking a model that combined what he had seen in France, and improvements they were making in agriculture there,” George said.

“And improvements being made in relations between landowners and tenants in France, and how it could apply to Virginia. And how it could fit into what we’re learning was a very complex neighborhood around Monticello.

“We know the Enlightenment period was all about science and experiments. And also about wanting to see how the quality of life could be improved for everybody.”

Given the times, Short’s experimental idea was audacious. Because he wasn’t present and won’t be able to carry it out himself, Jefferson would have to be his man on the ground and the implementer.

The revolutionary aspect of Short’s plan was to put enslaved black workers on some of the 10 tenant farms Jefferson had laid out, and freed blacks on others. The fruit of the experiment would be in seeing how well each of these groups did on their own.

“This is in rebuttal to Jefferson’s writing in, ‘Notes On The State of Virginia,’ in the early 1780s, which was the contemporary thought that blacks were actually inferior and could never be at the same level as whites,” George said. “They would always have to be looked after, almost like children.

“The implications of Short’s experiment were if you could prove through this that emancipated blacks had enough incentive to actually adapt themselves, they could live at a level perhaps on par with whites. And they could function in this society and wouldn’t have to be exported, either beyond the western border or back to Africa.

“They really could be productive members of society, and Short wanted to prove that through this experiment.”

Jefferson’s answer to the proposition, as far as is currently known, was silence. Nonetheless, silence can suggest things if one can surround the stillness with facts.

“What’s interesting to me is that this conversation is even taking place,” said Stewart H. Gamage, director of the Morven Project. “In effect Short was way ahead of his time in terms of thinking how social and economic dynamics could eventually produce a culture that could really realize what Jefferson’s documents had hoped for.

“In August 2008 I had been in this job for a few weeks when Christopher Owens, who works at Ash Lawn-Highland, came in with this particular [Indian Camp] map. He said it could prove useful to the investigation of Morven.”

The late John W. Kluge had given Morven to the University of Virginia in 2001. It was quickly realized that the exceptionally generous gift would require an equally special role for its usage.

The opportunities Morven will ultimately afford continue to be explored. It has already established itself as a place for leadership development, multidisciplinary research, as a hands-on classroom and a tranquil place where brilliant minds can think big thoughts.

As Morven started to become defined, Gamage saw the need for an in-depth study of its history and owners. George, who had come to UVa to do graduate work in architectural history, was asked by Gamage to take on the job.

As part of her research, George tracked down the original Indian Camp map, which is part of the Huntington collection. The collection, held in the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif., is thought to be the largest private collection of Virginia manuscripts and printed material.

George brought back an archival-quality reproduction of the map, which has been added to the growing cache of reference materials at Morven. This was important because the copy of the map originally brought to Gamage wasn’t clear enough to make out Jefferson’s writing on it.

In June 2009 George also discovered a letter Jefferson had written to Short that cleared the murky waters of history even more. Its significance wouldn’t be completely discerned until months later.

“I would say the biggest ‘aha’ moment for me was in December 2009,” Gamage said. “We were standing around the table, and we had the archaeology, the map and the letter Laura had found.

“On the map Jefferson had written the initials of the people working the tenant farms. Suddenly, with the map and the letter, we knew who the people were. To me it was like the clouds parted and the veil lifted.

“We could now know who these tenants were, we can find out about their lives, why they were here and what they were doing. It gave us a whole new window, and it wasn’t just supposition any longer.”

Gamage said what was equally extraordinary about the letter was how prescriptive Jefferson was about the experiment that was beginning to unfold. The tenants he placed on the farms were white as far as is currently known, but research on that continues.

“Jefferson not only chose who the tenants are going to be, but their caliber,” Gamage said. “And they had to be people who would give back to the land.

“He understood the importance of crop rotation, and was incredibly detailed about what they were going to plant, where they were going to plant and how. And Jefferson is trying hard to see how this tenant farm mix might actually work.”

As Gamage points out, Morven has benefited from a host of interesting owners. During a good part of the 20th century, the Stone family put Morven on the equestrian map for breeding champion racehorses such as Hall of Fame mare Shuvee, winner of the Filly Triple Crown in 1969.

There is growing evidence that suggests Native Americans found this place at the base of Carter Mountain to be just as enchanting as later owners have. When Jeffrey Hantman, anthropology professor at UVa, found on the property a quartz scraper tool characteristic of the type Monacan Indians had used, a new window opened.

Further digging and research indicates that people were using the area as far back as 4,000 years.

“We continue to move through the property and are analytically deciding what places are most likely to yield information,” George said. “We have a collaborative archaeological group, which has grown and now includes historians.

“We’re taking forward what we’ve learned and are working with Monticello, as well as Washington and Lee University and others. What we’re blending together is the planter class, slave class and the people in the middle to really come up with the story.

“We’re going to be putting a lot of focus on that and moving toward publication. We’re also learning a lot more about William Short, and it’s fascinating.

“The research we’re doing is to learn more about this neighborhood. It’s a lot more complex than people know.”