A breakthrough in understanding the Second Germanna Colony came when I found (with the assistance of others) a statement of Alexander Spotswood. My first exposure to this was from the book by Paula Felder entitled Forgotten Companions. Spotswood wrote:
". . .About the same time (1717) I fell into another partnership of land (with) Mr. Robert Beverley, (he) having discovered some excellent land among ye little mountains . . . but not daring to seat lands so remote . . . and exposed to Indians . . . until an opportunity hapened of freeing a considerable number of German families imported in 1717, when he invited me to become a sharer in the land . . . This tract then consisted of about 13,000 acres, but afterwards understanding that many others of the Germans . . . designed . . . to come and joyn their country-folks, we thought it needful to inlarge the tract; and I finding . . . that the Ministry at home was for encouraging the Plantations to raise Naval Stores, judged it convenient to take in a large quantity of piney lands, which lay contiguous and fit for tar and masts; and so it was increased to a tract of 40,000 acres."
Where was this land? Beverley's initial plot has never been described as it did not result in a patent. It would appear from the statement above that it was a part of the 40,000 acre tract which has been described in a patent. If one plots the tract, one sees that it runs parallel to the Rapidan River a few miles south of the river until the Robinson River is reached. Then the metes and bounds cross over the Rapidan to the north side of it and proceed up the Robinson River and the Crooked (Meander) Run until they leave it and head north for branches of Mountain Run. The course turns east, having encircled the site of the modern town of Culpeper, and then turn south before heading east on the southern side of Mount Pony to the beginning. In the last stages of the description, there is a reference to German Run. This is on the north side of the Rapidan, in the fork of the Rappahannock, called the Great Fork.
The reference to German Run is intriguing, especially since it is in the Great Fork. The general site is only a couple of miles from Germanna, albeit across the Rapidan. However, it is possible that the reference in the name was to the First Colony Germans at Germanna.
The land on the south side of the Rapidan is believed to be the land that Beverley had in mind. Since his interest in the land dates from 1710, or even earlier, it would have been very remote from any civilization or development. Anything more to the west or north of this is out of the range of being a reasonable site.
When the expedition over the Blue Ridge was undertaken in 1716, the route from Germanna was along the south side of the Rapidan. The very first camp after Germanna was named Beverley Camp. The slow pace of the expedition in this general area probably indicates they were traveling over the land which Beverley had staked out. Beverley was showing the land to Spotswood, trying to convince Spotswood to join him in a partnership.
Still, 40,000 acres is a lot of land to be searching over for the site of the first homes of the Second Colony.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.