Shenandoah National Park Rockingham County

W. F. Dean, Jr. farm, Tract 53, Rockingham County

Did you know?Two old log buildings in poor condition

The 1920s survey

A barn, 14 by 16 feet; timber (poplar, hickory, mixed oaks). 48 acres, valued at $545. The state paid $990.

Today

House sites and family graves are never marked. Pins show only public places, from USGS place names and other public sources.

Case files

The National Park Service has no case file online for this tract.

County court land file

Papers from the Rockingham County circuit court’s proceedings to take the land for the park, scanned by JMU Libraries.

Dean, William F., Jr.
The file at JMU Libraries, opens in a new tab PDF, opens in a new tab
Courtesy of the Rockingham County Circuit Court Clerk and JMU Libraries, Histories along the Blue Ridge. Public domain, opens in a new tab.

From the case file

The price per acre allowed for the 157 acres of land, reported under 53-a, is manifestly inadequate and confiscatory, because said lands are worth at least $1,500.00 more than is allowed for the same by said Board

— W. F. Dean, Jr., Dean, William F., Jr., Rockingham County court land file, page 10. Courtesy of the Rockingham County Circuit Court Clerk and JMU Libraries, Histories along the Blue Ridge. Public domain.

Families of the park

Other tracts whose owners shared the name. A shared name doesn’t always mean a shared family.

Did you know?

Two old log buildings in poor condition
The tract included an old log barn measuring 14x16x16 feet with a shingle roof and a log corn house measuring 16x16x12 feet, both in poor condition.
From the records How we know
Log dwelling with brick and stone flues
The tract record listed a log dwelling, 12x16 feet, 1½ stories, with an 8x16 porch, 3 rooms, and brick and stone flues, occupied by a tenant and valued at $250.00.
From the records How we know
One part of the tract grown up to briers and brush
One part of the tract had been neglected and was grown up to briers and brush, while most of the land had been cleared and cultivated for many years.
Sources differ: the park land records at JMU gives “One part of the tract had been neglected and was grown up to briers and brush, while most of the land had been cleared and cultivated for many years”; the county court land file says “Soitis Sandy clay; good depth and fertility; somewhat rocky in wooded portions moderate slopes”.
From the records How we know

Source: National Park Service, Shenandoah National Park, Historic Land Tracts.

The 1920s survey

Map of the tract

Case files

County court land file

From the case file

Families of the park