Heritage Weekend Tile 1977

Fort Pleasant is named for the 18th Century fort build to protect white settlers from Indians offended by settlements on the fertile ground Indians had cultivated for years. Early settlers, recognizing this use of land, gave it the name Old Fields.

The home built near where the fort stood is a stunning example of the mixed architectural Georgian and Federal styles favored by affluent families in the early 1800s. The two-story home was built in 1832 by Isaac VanMeter, grandson of one of the original settlers in the South Branch Valley.

Massive column make a grand statement at the portico entrance. Flanking the ends of the home are double chimes in the Georgian style. The interior is Federal in style with straight-line trim of hand-carved woodwork.

Prized as the most beautiful in the valley, a Federal-style staircase leads from the front hall to the attic and features a curved banister that is one continuous piece of woof from post to post.

Crude bricks made by local labor from clay found on the property give Fort Pleasant a county touch.

the stockade fort that stood near the home was built in 1756 during the French and Indian War by the elder Issac VanMeter. The fort was one of a series ordered by George Washington, then a Major in the army of the Commonwealth of Virginia, to protect settlers from Indians. It didn't work for VanMeters, he was scalped in 1748.

Directions: Follow US 220 north from Moorefield 3.5 miles to Old Fields Road. Turn right not the road and go aprox. 1 mile.