Oldal 576 [576]
GARRETT HILL
VO Aa. TLUATED in the southwest corner of Virginia, in
ál Pp Washington County, is the guaint old town of
Sc . CN 5 Abingdon, headquarters of the first pioneers west
tos Ei] of the Appalachian Range. It was founded in
jj 1788, and is said to be the first town incorporated
west of the Alleghanies. Here Daniel Boone spent
many months, and Parson Cummings lived most of his life as a
forceful and fearless exponent of the Presbyterian Church Militant.
He used to preach with his loaded rifle in the pulpit by him in
case of an attack from Indians.
One of the most notable places in this section was Carpet Hill,
the White homestead and the center of the gatherings of that
family for more than a hundred years. The name originated
from the mantle of blue grass that covered the slope and was
heavily carpeted with violets in the spring. The first owner of this
estate was William Young Conn, who bequeathed it in turn to his
nephew, William Young Conn White. ‘The latter married Mar¬
garet Jane Greenway and the two left many descendants, a few of
whom still live in Abingdon.
From the house, situated on the top of a gentle rise, could be
seen nearly thirty miles distant, Mount Rogers and White Top
Mountain, the two highest points in Virginia, White Lop with an
altitude of five thousand six hundred and seventy-eight feet above
the sea level.
The driveway leading up to the residence was bordered on
either side with stately Norway pines, which in the spring became
the home of countless blackbirds, robins and orioles. ‘The walks
beneath these trees were covered with tan bark, the color of which
was effective against the dark green of the pines. The turfed circle
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