Van Tol, John, CDR

White House Farm (Jefferson County, West Virginia).
The farm property was at one time owned by Commander John & Alice (Blake) Van Tol, 1974-1984.

White House Farm, also known as White House Tavern and the Dr. John McCormick House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is located in Jefferson County, West Virginia, near the small town of Summit Point, about six miles from Charles Town, West Virginia. The farm consists of a ca. 1740 farmhouse, a stone barn (the oldest standing in West Virginia), a springhouse of about the same age, a wooden curing shed, and 60+ acres of pasture and woods. The farm is one of the oldest in the county and has a rich history.

In May 1740, Dr. John McCormick, a Scots-Irish immigrant, purchased 395 acres (1.60 km2) from Jost Hite, a German land developer who had obtained 30,000 acres (120 km²) from John and Isaac Van Metre. By 1742, Dr. McCormick had built a three-story stone farmhouse. He was a prosperous and prominent country doctor, as evidenced by the inventory of his estate completed upon his death in 1768. He and his wife Ann had six sons (James, Francis, John Jr., William, George, and Andrew) and two daughters (Mary, wife of Magnus Tate, and Jean, wife of James Byrn). George Washington completed a survey of McCormick's land in 1752 and James McCormick served as the chain carrier and John Jr. as the pilot on several of George Washington's early surveys. White House Farm was noted for the horses bred there during Dr. McCormick's lifetime.

Upon Dr. McCormick's death in 1768, the farm was bequeathed to his youngest son, Andrew. During the Revolutionary War, Andrew and his wife Nancy provided food, lodging, and horses to Washington's troops. After the war, Andrew apparently operated an inn on the farm, for he paid for an "ordinary" license on February 18, 1794. For such an endeavor, the site benefited from its location on the most direct route between Frederick, Maryland and Winchester, Virginia.

On September 9, 1807, Andrew sold the farm to John Locke and John's brother George managed the ordinary, which had become known as White House Tavern. By 1845, Eleanor Locke, John's daughter, was living in the house with her husband, Joseph Morrow, a farmer who also operated a blacksmith shop across the road near the springhouse during the Civil War. During the Civil War, Major Harry Gilmor, Confederate States Army and his men were attacked by a group of Union soldiers led by Captain George Somers as the Confederates were resting in front of the house. Major Gilmor shot and killed Captain Somers as his men took cover behind the barn. The house was renovated in the late 1800s by the Morrows and subsequent owners added a few rooms.

Between 1929 and 1940 the farm was owned by Luther and Lelia Naylor, who converted the stone stable into a milking barn and constructed a silo. The black and white photograph shows the house as it appeared in the 1930s. This dairy operation continued until about 1950 when Col. and Mrs. Edward Blake purchased the property, which was passed on to Retired Navy Commander John and Alice Blake Van Tol in 1974.


Location: Jefferson County, West Virginia, USA
Nearest city: Summit Point, West Virginia
Coordinates: 39° 15' 5" North, 77° 56' 45" West
Built 1742
NRHP Reference #79002583
Added to NRHP August 29, 1979

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WHITE HOUSE FARM HISTORY (1863-Present)

On June 20, 1863 the state of West Virginia was created from the western lands of Virgnia, insuring that the Eastern Panhandle counties of Jefferson (where the farm is located), Berkeley, Morgan, and others would gradually lose their connections to the Old Dominion.

Between 1863 and 1930 the property changed hands four times and the exterior appearance was altered dramatically. The photograph below taken for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in the 1937 shows a Victorian-style front porch with a center stairway and the two gables depicted inTaylor's 1863 sketch. Additional gables were added at a later date and the attic was converted into more liveable space. In about 1950 a new kitchen and back porch were added, and in 1995, an additional bathroom and large den were added to the east side of the house.

Between 2000 and 2003, the kitchen was remodeled, the adjoining utility room was converted to a breakfast room, the three fireboxes were rebuilt and dampers were added to two of the chimneys, three bathrooms were remodeled, an exercise room was converted to a large master bedroom suite, the front porch was renovated, culinary and medicinal herb gardens surrounded by a picket fence were established, a formal Williamsburg-style garden was created behind the house, two antique-brick pathways were constructed to improve access to the back and front entrances, the rock break to the west of the house was cleared and populated with bulbs, and a post and rail fence was built along the back and west side of the area adjacent to the house. During that period the exterior and roof of the house was also repainted.

Changes in Ownership
1886-1913

For a detailed chronology of ownership, click here

1886: George Baylor to Ruthven & Lillie Morrow

1886-1905: research incomplete

1905: Farm sold to J.W. Hunsicker

1913: 143 acres split into 3 parcels:
* 60+ acres & house
* 35 acres across road (to Sagle)
* 46 acres on north (to Snyder)

Changes in Ownership
1928 to Present

1928: JW Hunsicker to Luther & Lelia Naylor

1940: Naylors to Katie Gracey

1944: Gracey to Joseph & Annie Macdonald

1950: A. Macdonald to Ed & Elizabeth Blake
(transfered to son-in-law and daughter John and Alice Van Tol, 1974)

1984: John & Alice (Blake) Van Tol to Claude & Delores Archer

1998: Delores Archer to today's caretakers