History & Haunting of: Fall Hill ,Rappahannock River , Fredericksburg, Virginia The Thornton family was among the earliest 18th century settlers on the falls of the Rappahannock and their first home was called The Falls. Later, a more elegant house was built and called by Francis Thornton Fall Hill. The estate still belongs to the descendants of the Thornton family. The home is privately owned and is not open to the public. She returns in search of the children she once cared for in life. She is old and dark with long braids, and she loves to play the ghostly spirit of her favorite Thornton child. She is Katina, the Sioux Indian princess who haunts the estate of Fall Hill. Captured in the late 17th century, Katina was given to Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood, who willed his treasured servant to the Thornton family of Fall Hill. There she delighted in caring for three generations of Thornton children until her death in 1777. She was buried beneath six giant oak trees on the estate, but Katinas care for the Thornton estate and its inhabitants has not ceased. Even in death, she returns to happily wander among Fall Hills rooms. Several years ago, two boys sleeping in the old nursery awoke to see a woman in long black braids appear in the room. After gazing at them a moment, the woman disappeared through the wall at the head of the bed. Years later, the nursery was remodeled and the old door that Katina would have used to enter the nursery was discovered at the spot where the ghostly apparition had disappeared into the wall. The Indian princess has also been seen playing in the nursery with Francis Thornton, II, her favorite child, and the only boy in the Fall Hill home. A woman visitor was resting in the room, when the door opened to reveal a boy in knee breeches and a periwig, cavorting with his Indian nurse. The woman watched them for a few moments. Suddenly the two visitors disappeared before her eyes. Many other residents and visitors to Fall Hill have witnessed Katinas appearance over the years, but all who have seen her agree that she is a kind and loving spirit who need not be feared. librarypoint.org/ The land on which Fall Hill was established is believed to have been included in a grant of 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) in Spotsylvania County patented by Francis Thornton I (1657–1727) around 1720. Thornton belonged to one of Virginias distinguished Colonial families. Upon settling in the area, Thorton established a home at The Falls, a plantation at the foot of Fall Hill within the present-day town of Fredericksburg. The family ran a grist mill on the Rappahannock River. It is said that Francis Thorton III (1711–1749) built the house on Fall Hill in order to escape the heat of the house at The Falls laying lower in elevation near the river. Francis Thornton III married Frances Gregory, daughter of Mildred Washington Gregory, aunt and godmother of George Washington. He served as a burgess, a trustee of Fredericksburg, and Colonel of the Spotsylvania militia. In 1749, Fall Hill was inherited by Colonel Thorntons son, Francis Thornton IV (1737–1794). However, he and his wife, Ann Thompson, maintained their primary residence at The Falls. The present mansion at Fall Hill is believed to have built by Francis Thorton V (1760–1836) probably around 1790 when he married Sally Innes. This belief is supported by architectural evidence in the design of the house common to the period. Francis Thornton V was a Justice of the Peace in Spotsylvania County. Their son, James Innes Thornton, was born at Fall Hill. He moved to Alabama, became its third secretary of state, and established his own plantation, Thornhill.Francis Thornton V died in 1836 without will. For nine years, until the estate was settled in 1845, Fall Hill was maintained by family slaves. Ultimately, the estate was deeded to Dr. John Taylor in 1845. It was Dr. Taylor that renovated the home in the 1840s. Its proximity to the Rappahannock River made Fall Hill a strategic point during the Fredericksburg Campaign of the Civil War. Fortifications were built along the river at the house to protect the crossing. The breastworks were built by General Robert E. Lees soldiers. According to long-time resident, Butler Franklin, at one point Lee ordered the mansion destroyed by cannon fire so he could better see the approach of the Union Army across the river. However the house was saved when the Union Army advance changed direction. In 1870 Dr. Taylors son, Murry Forbes Taylor, married Butler-Brayne Thornton, a descendant of Francis Thornton V, which again brought Fall Hill into the Thornton family. Taylor and his wife lived with Doctor Taylor at Fall Hill from 1875 to 1877. In 1877, Murray Thorton and his wife moved to California where Taylor managed the estate of Mrs. Phoebe Apperson Hearst (mother of William Randolph Hearst) at San Simeon, California.To show her gratitude to Murray Taylor when he retired from his job at San Simeon in 1908, Mrs. Hearst purchased Fall Hill for $25,000 as a gift for him. It was Mrs. Hearsts wish that Butler-Brayne Thornton Robinson Franklin inherit the estate. Except for a period from 1845–1870, Fall Hill has been in possession of the Thornton family. Butler Franklin, who died in 2003 at the age of 104, was the last of the Thorntons to own the property. Fall Hill was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June 1973 en.wikipedia.org Photo 1 by npsfrsp.wordpress- Photo 2 by fredericksburgva.us- Photo 3 by dhr.virginia.gov- Photo 4 by Horses gather under a tree at Graves Court@Fall Hill along Fall Hill Avenue as storm clouds pass by on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011.(Peter Cihelka/The Free Lance-Star)news.fredericksburg/
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 17:39:48 +0000
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