The History of Chancellor West
By Judy Carlson & Chancellor West Contributors
NOTE: If you have any historical information, photographs or stories about Chancellor West, please email cwestboard@gmail.com. We can scan photos or old clippings and would be happy to include the information.
Early History
The land on which our neighborhood sits was occupied by the Manahoac Indian tribe for hundreds of years. English settlers began arriving in the 1600s, gradually exploring northward from the Williamsburg area, and establishing new settlements. Alexander Spotswood, the appointed Colonial Governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1720, used his position to shrewdly establish favorable business conditions in the area as he forecast the creation of new counties. Although his policies were sympathetic to the local tribes, they were not in vogue or supported by the county’s non-Indian population. The Manahoac Indian Tribe eventually migrated out of the area, disappearing from records by 1728. In 1720, Spotswood’s last year as Governor, he received an 86,000-acre land grant from the King of England. This became Spotsylvania County in 1721.
Alexander Spotswood
Spotswood was an ambitious entrepreneur who built an iron ore mining and smelting operation, the Iron Mine Company, with his knowledge of iron ore deposits along the Rapidan River. His Tubal Furnace was constructed at Germana, which later became the county’s first settlement in 1725. Spotswood’s Iron Mine Company spurred the building of roads, immigration of skilled workers, and shipping infrastructure to transport the iron.
His operations enticed many westward bound settlers to remain. Land was divided into parcels and plantations arose, with Spotsylvania County experiencing tremendous population growth in the 1740s. While our area remained heavily wooded and a major antebellum iron ore provider, agriculture and especially tobacco farming, lead to the growth of the planation system. Slave ownership spread along with indentured servitude to enable plantations to grow and prosper, as the pre-Civil War era Spotsylvania County’s population grew.
Civil War Era
Spotsylvania County experienced four major Civil War Battles, making it one of the bloodiest areas of the period. The Chancellor West (CW) development is surrounded on three sides by National Park property, situated in the area called the Wilderness, with the park commemorating the Batlle of Chancellorsville. Many articles describing the battle in our area are available, a good one can be found here. Many historians considered this battle General Robert E. Lee’s greatest victory. The battle resulted in an estimated 14,000 Union casualties and 10,000 Confederate casualties.
Prior to development, our neighborhood and surrounding areas had been extensively searched for Civil War relics. Items, such as antique milk and medicine bottles, mini-balls, rifle parts, and uniform buttons were routinely found within old trench lines and trash disposal pits. Several lots today have visible evidence of trenches dug by Civil War soldiers during the battle. The National Park Service has records indicating trenches on lots along Pathfinders Court, dug by the Kings Battalion from West Newton, PA. Additional records show where Robert E. Lee traversed the properties on May 3, 1863.
Perhaps one of the most notable Civil War historical sites in our area is the location where Lee met Stonewall Jackson for the last time on 2 May 1863, the day of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Located at the corner of Furnace and Old Plank Roads, the meeting site is commemorated with a National Park Service marker. The event was later captured by E.B.D. Julio in his 1869 painting, The Last Meeting. Jackson was later mortally wounded, dying on 10 May.
The Last Meeting
Our area is also notable for its many historic landmarks in addition to the Battle of Chancellorsville. One of Lt. Governor Spotswood’s descendants was “Lighthouse Harry” Lee (the father of Robert E. Lee). Harry sold some of his Chancellor area acreage to the parents of Matthew Fontaine Maury in 1806. Maury was born on the property, which now lies within the National Park adjacent to our development and is recognized with a historical marker that details his career. Maury became a renown oceanographer who was known as “the Pathfinder of the Sea.” One of the streets in Chancellor West is named Matthew Maury Court and another is Pathfinder Court.
Just down the Furnace Road trail in the National Park is another relic … Catharine’s Furnace. Catharine’s Furnace was founded and built by Fredericksburg Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company, and owned by Francis B. Deane, John Heth, John S. Wellford, Edward H. Carmichael and William Crump. Why Catherine’s Furnace?…Catherine was the name of Wellford’s mother. Wellford was the financial backer of the company as well as the manager of the furnace. By the early spring of 1838 the blast furnace was ready for operation. This furnace was a major operation and employer in the county. Another CW Street is named after this location. The iron making furnace and its buildings were used by the Confederacy and destroyed during the Civil War by none other than General George Custer. Although the furnace operation was later rebuilt, it eventually fell into ruin.
Post Civil War
Another bygone landmark was the Potomac – Fredericksburg – Piedmont narrow-gauge railroad that operated between Fredericksburg and Orange. Originally an amalgamation of railroads, dating back to 1853 that planned to link Fredericksburg with Gordonsville, the PF&P RR was to carry coal, iron ore, and timber. It operated until 1926 when most of its track was sold. The Virginia Central Railroad operated a portion of the old PF&P line after converting the rails into standard gauge. A portion of the railbed was converted to the Virginia Central Railway Trail and the train stations repurposed into new businesses.
The dissolution of large plantations and the growth of many small land parcels in our area during the post-Civil War Reconstruction Period was brought about by the Emancipation Act, which formally freed all slaves. Spotsylvania saw the non-slave population decline by more than 90 percent during the 1870s. While our area remained a heavily wooded part of the county, dotted with small farm homesteads, mining continued as a major commercial endeavor, expanding beyond iron ore to include zinc, gold, silver, and lead.
The demands of a wartime economy during the First and Second World War years, together with the rapid emergence of gasoline powered automobiles and trucks, fueled the growth of a modern transportation network across the nation. The corridor between Norfolk and Washington DC became a major transportation thoroughfare, which in turn contributed to a rising population and commercial growth. During the post-World War II era Spotsylvania County experienced a tremendous population infusion which continued through the 1980s with the completion of I-95.
Chancellor West Origins
The origins of Chancellor West begin with Carl D. Silver. After serving in WW II, Carl opened several car dealerships in the Fredericksburg area. He believed the Interstate Highway system would bring expansion to the Fredericksburg area and began buying land throughout the region. He sold his successful auto dealerships in 1963 and began a real estate investment and development company that focused on the area west of Fredericksburg. The Silver Companies today are a national company, headquartered in Florida, that develops residential and commercial real estate, apartment and senior housing communities, office buildings, and hotels. You can learn more about their history by watching a video here.
The Silver Companies purchased land from Delmarva Properties in 1986 and immediately set about developing their new purchase. Chancellor West acreage was divided into 99 lots to be developed in two stages: Section 1, lots around the entrance area; and Section 2, lots along the completion of Lee Jackson Circle, the lake with dam, the pool, tennis courts and playground areas.
The Chancellor West Company … Master Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Reservations, Restrictions and Easements for Section 1 was filed on 22 October 1987 with Section 2 added on 2 April 1988. The Association was incorporated as a non-stock Virginia corporation on 6 January 1988, providing a path for transitioning to a member wholly-owned and managed Homeowners’ Association.
Pages from the original 1987 marketing brochure hailed our area as “The New Standard of Prominence”.
Lots were sold directly to builders or to individual home buyers who then selected their own contractor. Silver’s “preferred custom home builders” included Coleman Homes, Omni Builders and Jamestowne /Chip Long Custom Builder among others. Coleman Homes still builds in the multi-county area. The lots were comparatively large for a suburban enclave, and the various floorplans showcased exceptional residences.
The brochure highlighted the increasingly popular development concept of a subdivision with shared amenities whose members were bound together by Covenants.
“When you build your dream home at Chancellor West, you are assured of your investment with our set of protective covenants.”
Chancellor West became a sought-after community for new home buyers who wanted to escape the urban setting, yet be close to shopping, restaurants, and healthcare. Sales began with Section 1 lots and quickly transitioned into Section 2. The June 2002 map above shows both sections … with thirteen lots remaining for sale. Today, ninety-seven of the original ninety-nine lots have homes.
Present Day
The character, appeal, and reputation of Chancellor West remain exceptional. The Association’s governing documents, although updated and supplemented over the years, reflect member desires as the neighborhood has matured and its demographics evolved. The few homes that are listed for sale each year remain so for only several days and draw a high resale value. The Association’s location, with nearby shopping and services and an excellent county’s school system, continues to attract government and business leaders, professionals from many vocations, and both active and retired government employees. Chancellor West is a place where neighbors know and care about one another, a place that is safe for kids to visit friends and play, a great place to call home.
Old Newspaper Archive
June 12, 1986
Silver Ad 10/9/1987
May 23, 1990
Assessor over rating 1/9/1992
October 21, 1989
September 9, 2005
Various for sale May 4, 1991