Stranica 576 [576]
OCR
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 Margaret 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 L353]
