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Home My WebLink About10-24 HRAB LetterTHOMAS MOORE LAWSON, P.C. *OF COUNSEL - WILLIAMS MULLEN 120 EXETER DRIVE, SUITE 200 POST OFFICE BOX 2740 WINCHESTER, VA 22604 *THOMAS MOORE LAWSON • TLAWSON@LSPLC.COM TELEPHONE: (540) 665-0050 FACSIMILE: (540) 722-4051 MEMORANDUM VIA E-MAIL TO: Kayla Peloquin, Planner I Frederick County, Virginia Department of Planning and Development FROM: Thomas Moore Lawson, Esquire DATE: November 15, 2024 RE: Winchester East at Opequon Creek – Historic Ownership of Property The Historic Resources Advisory Board requested additional research on the prior inhabitants and owners of the properties which are the subject of the Winchester East at Opequon Creek rezoning application. Below is a summary of the title search for each property based upon a review of the Frederick County land records: I. Tax Map No. 65-A-95 (the “Riggleman Property”) The Riggleman Property was originally part of a larger 409-acre tract of land owned by the Calmes family of Clarke County. A portion of the property was situated in Frederick County, and a portion was situated in Clarke County. In 1887, A. Moore Calmes, George Calmes, and W.B. Calmes recorded a Deed of Partition partitioning 165 acres from the larger tract of land and conveying that portion to W.B. Calmes (Deed Book 111, at Page 68). The 165 acres was still partially situated in both Frederick and Clarke Counties, and was devised to Harriet D. Calmes by W.B. Calmes’ will. Of interest, William Burgess Calmes, a son of W.B. Calmes and a Washington, DC resident, found himself the subject of divorce proceedings after his wife, Lucille Agniel Calmes, learned that he was ejected from a Washington, DC hotel for registering there with a woman who was not his wife. Mr. Calmes registered as “William B. Calmes and wife, Winchester, Va.” Per an article dated July 1, 1919 published in the Washington Times Herald, Lucille filed for divorce, alimony, and custody of their daughter after learning of the incident. They had been married for four years at the time of the lawsuit. The Riggleman Property was historically used for agricultural purposes. A deed dated February, 1908 conveying the property to a new owner reserved the right of the present tenant “to return thereon in the summer of the present year to cut and thresh the wheat crop now growing thereon 2 and to haul aways his share of same.” The new owner of the property would receive “the landlord’s share of wheat crop being two-fifths and is to pay her proportion (2/5s) of the fertilizer used thereon.” Below are the conveyances from the Calmes family to the current owners. October 6, 1904: The property was the subject of a foreclosure sale and conveyed to John M. Silver by the trustee of a deed of trust Harriet Calmes entered into in 1901 (Deed Book 125, at Page 223). February 12, 1908: John and Annie Silver conveyed the property to Sarah Orndorff (Deed Book 129, at Page 74). Sarah’s husband, William Orndorff, executed this Deed as well to give his consent to the conveyance of the property to his wife. March 14, 1908: William and Sarah Orndorff conveyed the portion of the property (70 acres) situated in Frederick County to Oliver H. Anderson (Deed Book 129, at Page 76). The Orndorffs retained the balance of the property situated in Clarke County. - “And it is understood that the center of the Opequon Creek as it now stands is to be the line between the property hereby conveyed and the remainder of said farm which is held by said Sarah Orndorff.” December 14, 1914: Newton and Mary Carpenter conveyed a 20-foot-wide strip of their property to Oliver Anderson to provide Anderson access from the 70-acre property to Senseny Road (Deed Book 137, at Page 345). March 15, 1915: O.H. and Annie Anderson conveyed the property to E.B. and M.G. Estes (Deed Book 138, at Page 11). November 10, 1921: E.B. and M.G. Estes conveyed the property to Ernest Clem (Deed Book 148, at Page 190). August 22, 1966: The heirs of Ernest Clem conveyed a one-half undivided interest in the property to G. Raymond and Hilda P. Patton, and a one-half undivided interest in the property to Vigil H. and Mernie A. Eskridge (Deed Book 325, at Page 148). October 16, 1974: Hilda Patton, widow, conveyed the one-half undivided interest in the property owned by herself and her husband, G. Raymond, deceased, to Virgil and Mernie Eskridge (Deed book 436, at Page 570). September 21, 1981: Virgil H. and Mernie A. Eskridge conveyed the property to Forest and Mildred Riggleman (Deed Book 541, at Page 124). October 7, 1983: Jean M. Cussen conveyed a 5.162-acre portion of her property to Forest and Mildred Riggleman which increased the acreage of the Riggleman Property 73.162 acres (Deed Book 566, at Page 728). 3 II. Tax Map No. 65-A-194B (the “Cussen Property”) The Cussen Property was original part of a 75 to 77.35-acre tract of land bisected by Senseny Road. Early deeds for the property list improvements on the property, including a flour mill, and a saw mill. The legal description also describes the property as the Helm Mill property, Pleasant Valley Mills, and Renner’s Mill. October 1, 1857: William and Susan Ford conveyed the property Joseph Furr (Deed Book 83, at Page 522). July 6, 1866: Joseph and Mary Furr conveyed the property to Asa Renner (Deed Book 86, at Page 247). February 4, 1876: The property was sold at a foreclosure sale to Joseph Furr by the trustees to a deed of trust entered into by Asa Renner (Deed Book 92, at Page 358). August 25, 1877: Joseph and Mary Furr conveyed the property Thomas Rose of Fulton County, Pennsylvania (Deed Book 94, at Page 105). March 23, 1878: Thomas and Elizabeth Rose conveyed the property to John Ford (Deed Book 94, at Page 106). May 20, 1902: John and Mary Ford conveyed the property to N.H. Carpenter (Deed Book 122, at Page 410). January 6, 1916: Newton H. and Mary Katherine Carpenter conveyed the property to J. Wilmer Carpenter (Deed Book 138, at Page 478). At some time between 1916 and 1937, J. Wilmer Carpenter conveyed the property Edward W. Hinton. The And Being clauses in later deeds merely state that this deed is of record in the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Frederick County, Virginia without a reference to a deed book and page. A review of the indexes during this time period were unsuccessful. August 27, 1937: Edward and Nannie Hinton conveyed the property to their daughters, Mary E. Feltner and Katie G. Harman (Deed Book 174, at Page 552). May 29, 1939: Thomas J. Trier acquired the property from George W. Edith M. Feltner (sometimes known as Mary E. Feltner) and F.C. and Katie G. Harman, although it does not appear that he resided there (Deed Book 178, at Page 275). Trier was the Superintendent of Water and Sewers for the City of Winchester circa 1914 and the City Manager for the City of Winchester circa 1919. In 1919, the Shenandoah Valley Apple Cider and Vinegar Company caught fire. Trier assisted firefighters and was nearly drained when he fell in a vat of vinegar. June 30, 1950: Special Commissioner Robert Woltz sold the property to Wilbur M. and Helen A. Feltner pursuant to a court-ordered sale in the matter of Annie M. Bell v. James M. Trier, et al (Deed Book 215, at Page 157). Annie Bell and James Trier were Thomas J. Trier’s siblings. Thomas Trier passed away in 1949, and Annie’s husband, Lawrence M. Bell, was the administrator 4 of Thomas’ estate. Wilbur Feltner was a recognized community leader in Clarke County, Frederick County, and the City of Winchester. He began his career in banking at Bank of Clarke County in 1938. In 1942, Feltner began work as a teller at Farmers & Merchants National Bank. He was appointed President of F&M National Bank in 1964 and Chairman and CEO in 1969. When F&M merged with BB&T in 2001, Feltner retired. His time at F&M was interrupted only by his service in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Feltner was also instrumental in relocating Shenandoah University from Dayton, Virginia to Winchester in 1960. He served on the university’s board of trustees from 1964 until 1992. After renovating the property located at 9 Court Square in downtown Winchester, Feltner’s Foundation donated the building to Shenandoah University in April 2011. June 30, 1960: Wilbur and Helen Feltner conveyed a 54.72-acre portion of the property to John F. Cussen (Deed Book 264, at Page 391). John Cussen, and his wife Jean Cussen, made multiple conveyances from 1970 through 1984 resulting in the 18.172-acre tract which exists today.