Wilkes History

Generation No. 4

13. Benjamin4 WILKES, Sr. (Francis,3 John,2 Sr., Francis1) was born in 1801, probably in Franklin County, Virginia, and died 10 Nov 1886 in Bedford County, Virginia. Benjamin’s place of birth has not been proved. Benjamin is listed as being born in Virginia on the 1850 and 1860 censuses, but on the 1870 census, he is listed as being born in Ohio. In A History of Bedford County, it is reported that Benjamin was born in Montgomery County, Virginia. On Benjamin’s marriage license to Mary Bell, it is reported that Benjamin was born in Franklin County, Virginia, ca. 1804 to Francis and Elizabeth Wilks. Many of Benjamin’s descendants believe that he was born in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Further research is needed on Benjamin’s father, Francis Wilks. Francis signed indentures in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1787, 1789, 1795, 1797, 1803, and 1804, and his wife, Elizabeth, signed the 1803 indenture. Based upon these records, I believe that Benjamin was born in Franklin County.

It seems that Francis removed from Franklin County to Patrick County between 1804 and 1808. Francis sold land in Patrick County in 1808 and 1815; was on the 1810 Patrick County Tax List, and served on the Patrick County Grand Jury in 1814 and 1815. The whereabouts of Francis between 1815 and 1837 is unknown. Francis’ letter of 1837/1839 from Lawrence County, Ohio, sounds as though he had lived there previously. There is a Francis Wilks listed on the 1810 and 1820 censuses in Lawrence County. It is not known if one or both of these Francis is the son of John and the father of Benjamin.

Benjamin married (1) Matilda DUFFEL 17 Dec 1827 in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Lynchburg weekly newspaper, Virginian, page 3, column 2, reported the date of marriage as 20 Dec 1827. Rev. Ryland officiated. Daughter of James Duffel and Rebecca Leonard, Matilda was born 20 Feb 1804 in Fredericks-burg, Virginia, and died 21 Sep 1878 in Bedford County, Virginia, at 75 years of age. Benjamin married (2) Mary L. BELL, daughter of William L. and Elizabeth Bell, 22 Sep 1881 in Bedford County. John G. Shippman officiated. Benjamin was 78 years old, and Mary was 54 years old.

It is interesting to note that James Duffel was a great-grandson of James Steel who came to this country from England as private secretary to William Penn and secretary of the Province in which the Penn Quaker Colony was located. James Duffel and his brother, Edward, were born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. James Duffel, while working in Alexandria as an apprentice in silver smithing, volunteered for service with the Continental Army. He served as Corporal, 5th and 11th Continental Lines, and he is listed in Gwaltney’s Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution. James worked in Fredericksburg County for several years before joining his brother, Edward in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1809.

Listed in Bedford County Birth Records 1853-1856 are slaves owned by Benjamin Wilkes:
James and John Wilkes (twins), b. May 1854 to Eliza Lucinda Wilkes, b. Dec 1854 to Eliza
Male Wilks, b. Feb 1855 to Sophiah Female Wilks, b. Mar 1855 to Elizabeth
Malinda and Lucinda Wilks (twins), b. 12 May 1856 to Eliza Burwell Wilks, b. Jan 1856 to Sophiah

Listed in Bedford County Death Records, page 45, is: Henry, Slave, died Nov 1857 from Typhoid Fever at 35 years of age. Owner: Benjamin Wilks. Informant: N. Horsely (friend).
Virginia Census Listings for Benjamin Wilks
1830 Campbell County -p. 393 1860 Bedford County 1870 Bedford County
Benjamin Wilks Forest Depot - Northern Charlemont Twp., p. 118
1 Male (5-10) District – p. 378 – 24 Aug Liberty P.O. – 23 Aug
1 Male (20-30) Benjamin Wilks (55), b. VA Benjamin Wilks (70), b. OH
1 Female (10-15) Matilda Wilks (52) Matilda Wilks (66)
1 Female (20-30) Corbin Wilks (22) *Mary Gregory (50), Teacher
10 Slaves Farm Manager R.E.: $5,000; P.P.: $5,000
James Wilks (20) Servants: Inson Staples (12), Betsy
1850 Campbell County Benjamin Wilks (16) Anthony (26), Sarah Jeffreys (15)
08 Aug – p. 138 R.E. $115,000; P.P. $63,000
Benjamin Wilks (46), b. VA 1880 Bedford County – E.D. 22
Matilda Wilks (43) *Mary may be daughter of Deborah Otter Dist. - 05 June
Leyburn Wilks (19) West Duffel Gregory who was born Benjamin Wilks (79), b. VA
Elizabeth Wilks (15) born in 1817 and died 15 Jan 1881, Benjamin A. Wilks (21),
Henry Wilks (14) and thus Matilda’s niece. Grandson, b. VA
Corbin Wilks (12) . **Walker Bowman (16),
James Wilks (11) **Walker Bowman (16), Student Grandson, b. VA
Kitty [Matilda] Wilks (8) boarder also listed with Wm. R.
Benjamin Wilks (6) Abbott, Teacher.
Richard Horsley (22), Tutor

In the Bedford County Order Books are the following records for Benjamin Wilks:

Nov Term 1837: Book No. 26, 77. Ordered that Benjamin Wilks be released from the payment of taxes on a tract of land lying partly in the County of Campbell and Bedford, purchased of George Martin in 1833, it appearing to the . . . satisfaction of the Court that . . . Benjamin Wilks is to wit with the said land in the County of Campbell.

December Court 1846: Book No. 29, 311. Ordered that Benjamin Wilks and Charles Henry Lynch . . . settle the account of the estate of Samuel P. Davies.

March Court 1847: No. 29, 347. Benjamin Wilkes petitioned for alterations in the public road leading from Faney Charin by Sam Colemans.

June Court 1849; June Court 1850: Book No. 30, 227, 385. On the motion of Benjamin Wilkes who produced the sheriffs receipt for the tax imposed by law license is granted him to keep a house of private entertainment in his house in this County until the next May Term of this Court.

June Court 1852: Book No. 31, 128. Ordered that the hands of Thomas B. Jopling, Edison D. Moore, Alexander H. Russell, Caleb Mead, Benjamin Wilks, Thomas L. Sanders, Mrs. David Sanders, J., William Hobson, John Wilson, John Goods, James Wilson and Mrs. Frances Christian afsist Thomas B. Jopling in keeping the road of which he is surveyor in good repair.

June Court 1853: Book No. 31, 278. Ordered that William H. Ore, A. Cresham Kimintz, Benjamin Wilks, Jeremiah Hackworth, William Johnson and Alexander Johnson be appointed as patrol in this County for three months and that . . . William H. Ore act as Captain. . . .

January Court 1854: Book No. 31, 360. Joplings petition for road. Benjamin Wilks enters himself party defendant to this motion and moved to quash the proceedings in this case and the Court declined hearing said motion at present and the Case continued till next Court.

November Court 1854: Book No. 31, 500. Ordered that the hands of Benjamin Wilks work under Thomas B. Jopling Surveyor of road.
January Court 1855: Book No. 31, 527. On the motion of Thomas L. Sanders and Gustavius A. Sanders, Executors of David Sanders deceased, it is ordered that Benjamin Wilks, Granville A. Brown, Jefse L. Hopkins, Mumford Woodford, Thomas Wilkerson, William Lond and William I. Read or any three of them divide and allot the slaves belonging to the estate of . . . David Sanders deceased giving those entitled thereto and make a report thereof to Court.

During the early 1850s, Benjamin Wilkes operated an ordinary at the Peaks of Otter on the road from Liberty to Buchanan. “Ordinary” and “tavern” were virtually synonymous in antebellum Virginia.

“Ordinaries were located on main roads or turnpikes and were required to provide lodging and meals for guests and food and stable facilities for horses. Houses of private entertainment were usually located in private homes and were scattered throughout the county; they were not required to be on principal thoroughfares. They might provide room and meals for several persons and corresponded to a local boarding house or a ‘bed and breakfast’ arrangement.”

From Bedford County Deed Books, Jacques Miller compiled the following records:

5 Sep 1843: Book 30, 386. Polly Wood relinquished her dower right to 89½ acres to Benjamin Wilkes for $100. (This was Wilkes’ first purchase of land at the Peaks.)

16 Oct 1843: Book 30, 516. Edward and Elizabeth Hunter of St. Charles County, MO deeded Benjamin Wilkes . . . 48½ acres . . . allotted to John Wood in the division of Jeremiah Wood estate and . . . 49½ acres . . . allotted to Nancy Turner, wife of Malancthon Turner . . . for $620.

4 Mar 1850: Book 38, 404. Richard Davis deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 345 acres for $500.

20 Aug 1851: Book 38, 404. John and Caroline Thompson deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 1500 acres that included Sharp Top and 1200 acres that included Flat Top, all for $2700.

29 Dec 1851: Book 35, 447. James and Juda Wilson deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 100 acres for $600. This land borderd land held by Wilkes, Jopling and Whiteley.

10 Nov 1852: Book 36, 50. Edwin and Sarah Moore deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 240¼ acres for $5; 29¾ acres on Forest Road and joint interest in 5 acres, 16 perches (?) containing Woodson Store.

26 Feb 1853: Book 36, 94. Edwin and Sarah Moore deeded Benjamin Wilkes, a tract of 550 acres and a 5-acre tract on the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, for $3000, bounded by Spotswood Brown, John Leftwich, John Goode and Noell.

The residence on the above property is Lochwood Hall.

“The old brick residence, mellowed with age and marked with individuality, can be seen from
the highway for miles. It commands a magnificent view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and their picturesque foothills. The main three-story dwelling was built before the Revolutionary War, the architectural features, high ceilings, paneled walls, carved mantels, and deep recessed windows being similar to many of the James River houses built in that period. The builder’s idea of permanence is indicated by the twenty-inch brick walls, which are still in excellent condition. Soon after 1852 additional rooms were built by Benjamin Wilkes.

Lochwood Hall
Picture from Vincent M. Wilkes



“According to tradition a row of old trees which stand as sentinels along the carriage drive were named for the Confederate Generals in whose time they were planted. It was during Hunter’s raid through Bedford County that his men took possession of this place, confiscating contents of the smokehouse and slaughtering the cattle for the use of their troops.

“On the south side of the house lies the formal English box-wood garden, where narcissi and golden daffodils border a carpet of blue periwinkle. The north side of the lawn sweeps
down to the old slave quarters, near which are grouped the smoke house, a stone icehouse and the interesting dairy room with its many stone shelves.”

Originally built by William Leftwich, in the 1790’s, this was Benjamin Wilks’ home for many years. He named it Carlotta after the wife of Maximilian, Austrian emperor of Mexico. The name was later changed to Lochwood Hall. It is now a historical monument in Bedford County.

17 May 1853: Book 36, 148. Cornelius and Nancy Noell deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 302 acres on the north side of Big Otter River below the Forest Road for $1850.

17 Jul 1853: Book 36, 325. Samuel Garland to Benjamin Wilkes a deed of release by the surviving trustee of Cornelius Noell, Sr.

27 Feb 1854: Book 36, 423. Anderson and Slaughter, commissioners in Anderson vs Steptoe deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 620 acres on Faggs Branch for $6 per acre.

15 April 1854: Book 37, 254. Spotswood and Elizabeth Brown deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 29 acres, 2 roods and 31 poles on the Forest Road from Lynchburg to Liberty for $550.

24 Oct 1856: Book 39, 42. Erasmus and Catherine Noell deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 46 acres, 1 rood and 24 poles of land adjacent to Wilkes.

11 Dec 1856: Book 45, 90. Benjamin and Matilda Wilkes deeded Erasmus T Noell, some 4 acres, 2 roods and 15 poles, this land being cut off the Anderson Tract for $100.

30 Dec 1857: Book 40, 263. Benjamin and Matilda Wilkes deeded John Cofer, 301 acres on Boyd’s road, adjoining land of Wilson, Hunter, Harris and Padget, for $2000. (This is land that Wilkes had previously bought from Richard Davis.)

4 Dec 1858: Book 40, 209. William W Jopling, commissioner for the Jopling family, deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 357 acres, 3 roods and 14 poles of land for $1073.51.

3 Jan 1859: Book 40, 262. Benjamin and Matilda Wilkes deeded Thomas B Jopling, 42½ acres of land (previously bought from Richard Davis by Wilkes) on Moor’s road, adjoining land of Joplin and Hunter for $800.

21 Jul 1860: Book 42, 538. Cornelius Noell, commissioner for the estate of Cornelius Noell, Sr., deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 1854.188 acres on the east side of Big Otter River for $1. Land on Forest road and adjoining land of Wilkes and Erasmus Noell.

5 Mar 1862: Book 43, 12. Benjamin and Matilda Wilkes deeded Thomas B Jopling, some 42 acres as described in a deed in Book 40, Page 262, for $840 “not now being recollected, paid in part and the balance secured to be paid.”

15 Feb 1867: Book 43, 298. Robert N Kelso, commissioner in the cause of John Tinsley and wife vs Allison Jeter and others, deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 403½ acres adjoining land of William A Hardy, Lawson S Hurt, E M Carnefix and others. This is land that was sold to Aneas Hunter or his assignee, Benjamin Wilkes, for $13.20/acre ($5326.20).

22 Jan 1869: Book 44, 198. Benjamin Wilkes deeded Edmund Arrington, 220 acres on the “south slope of Flat Top Peak of Otter,” for $500 paid to Nicholas Horsley.

12 Aug 1869: Book 44, 343. Nancy Woodford deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 238 acres “it being the land on which Nancy Woodford now lives” for $500.

8 Aug 1872: Book 46, 315. Benjamin and Matilda Wilkes deeded Charles F Plant, 403½ acres, about five miles north of Liberty, for $5000. This land, on which John Jeter resided at the time of his death, was conveyed to Benjamin Wilkes by Robert N Kelso, commissioner, on 15 Feb 1867.

28 Jul 1873: Book 47, 100. Anne E Bolling of Wythe County deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 250 acres for $3000.

22 Aug 1876: Book 49, 180. Charles A Bower, commissioner in the cause of Jesse T Hopkins vs John Goode, deeded Benjamin Wilkes, 150 acres, 2 roods of land near Goodes Crossing on both sides of the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Road, for $14.25 per acre. ($2137.50) This was land that had belonged to John Goode.

20 Jan 1879: Book 51, 319–324. These pages include four deeds executed by Benjamin Wilkes in which he makes gifts of land to each of his four living sons “in consideration of his natural love and affection for his son(s) and to (their) children.”

To Corbin Wilkes 447 acres and 2 roods of land near Goode’s Crossing and on the Big Otter River. Also a half interest in Wilkes Mill and an option to buy the remaining half for $1500.

To Leyburn Wilkes 249 acres and 33 poles being the same land conveyed to Benjamin from Ann Bolling on 28 July 1873.

To Benjamin Wilkes, Jr., 307 acres and 32 poles on Forest road.

To Henry C Wilkes 620 acres acquired from Anderson & Slaughter on 27 Feb 1854. And about one acre of the Moore tract lying near the main entrance to the above tract.

Each deed contained restrictions: “. . . if the said land or any part thereof shall hereafter be sold or exchanged it shall not be . . . for anything but other real estate and the proceeds of any sale shall be reinvested in real estate and . . . the real estate acquired by such exchange or reinvestment must be held subject to all of the trusts, limitations and restrictions herein before expressed but no such sale or exchange of said property or any part thereof, shall be made during the life time of . . . Benjamin Wilkes, except with his written consent nor after his death excepting under the direction and control of some court of the County of Bedford having jurisdiction of trust estates.”

5 Jan 1880: Book 52, 291. Benjamin Wilkes deeded John C and Cary A Mooormaw, 413¼ acres on the north side of Forest road for $12,397.50.

8 Mar 1880: Book 52, 503. Benjamin Wilkes deeded John H and James H Hopkins as the highest bidders, 356½ acres a.k.a. Harken Hill Tract for $6.20/acre. ($2210.30)

28 Jun 1880: Book 52, 547. Benjamin Wilkes deeded John T Johnson at auction Tract #3 @ 52 acres and Tract #9 @ 129 acres. (No price given)

26 Jan 1883: Book 56, 93. Benjamin and Mary Bell Wilkes, his wife, deeded Henry A Woodford 221 acres on both sides of Blackwater road adjoining Henry Woodford for $669.96½.
16 Feb 1883: Book 55, 528. Commissioners for Benjamin Wilkes deeded John Nix, 160 ¾ acres at the foot of the Peaks of Otter on both sides of the Buchanan to Liberty Turnpike where Nicholas Horsley recently resided a.k.a Home Tract. (no price given)

24 Feb 1883: Book 56, 486. Benjamin Wilkes deeded James L Lacks as highest bidder, some 109 acres for $0.55/acre. ($59.95 for Lot #6 in the division of land on the Peaks)
The following is an excerpt from Bedford County, Virginia, 1840-1860, a book found in the Virginia Room at the Roanoke City Main Library by Vincent Wilkes.

“Wilkes epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit of pioneer America and obviously had faith in the growth potential of the Peaks area. As early as 1849, Wilkes was granted a license to keep a House of private entertainment, which he ran with the help of one of his sons, Leyburn Wilkes.

Wilkes had discovered the boom of the tourist trade, and he and his son moved quickly to capitalize on it. In 1853, Wilkes petitioned the General Assembly for per-mission to construct toll roads up to Flat Top and Sharp Top to collect monies from the increasingly numerous sightseers.

Peaks of Otter – Picture from Vincent M. Wilkes

By 1855, Leyburn Wilkes had acquired a license for ‘wine and ardent spirits to be drunk and sold’
at the ordinary.

Then in 1857, Leyburn Wilkes began to build the first hotel in the area, called the Otter Peaks Hotel, with accommodations for 50 people. A local resident of the area at the time, John W. Early, described the complex as consisting of ‘Hotel, cabin with four rooms—eight rooms in the Hotel—store house with two rooms—another cabin of two rooms—kitchen—smokehouse—Springhouse—an overseer’s house—wagoner’s house—corn house and large stable—and a rock house on top of the Peaks [Sharp Top] with tin roof.’

A visitor to the hotel, Henry Morgan, described his experience this way: In less than half a mile from the spring we come to the celebrated ‘Otter Peak’s House’ kept by Mr. Leyburn Wilkes. Better accommodations, more prompt and ready service, and amid more delightful scenery could not be desired. Mr. Wilkes is a young man, kind and affable, whose chief delight is to make the visitors cheerful and happy. He owns both of these mountains, which in time must prove a source
of incalculable wealth. His buildings multiply with the increase of travel, and no labor or expense will be spared to make this the most attractive watering place in America. The air is cool and
salubrious, and in the hottest season an exhilarating breeze sweeps through the mountain pass, while the low lands of the State are parched, sultry and infected.”

In Bedford County Order Book 34, page 463, is the following record:

We the undersigned cald. [sic] On by Benj. Wilkes of Bedford County Va. To value the damage dun (sic) him by Bir Gel Crooks Armey [sic] on 17th June 1864 we have valued each article separate and class them under the following heads,
Live stock valued at $20,400 Damage done Plantation &c 11,840
Negroes “ “ 50,000 Damage done Mill 3,000
Provision 62,160 $147,400
Jas. W. Harris, Thos. M. Wilkinson, Thos. B. Jopling

Benjamin Wilkes’ Last Will and Testament of 01 Jan 1880 was recorded in Bedford Court 24 Dec 1886:

I give to Walker Bowman, son of my youngest daughter, the balance of the Moore track of land bound by the lines of the Leobb track lying on both sides of the railroad which includes a part of the Leobb track on both sides of the railroad, then by the lot of T.E. Lowery. The old road to the Forest road then with the Forest road to my son Corbin’s line, as before mentioned passing through the woods.
I give to my son Leyburn the last two bonds due on the Jeter track of land to be held by him for his children.
I give to my two grandsons, Benjamin and Cabbell Horsely, the balance of my Woodford track of land after cutting off thirty acres sold Henry Woodford. I also give them the track bought by my grandson Cabbell at the sale of the Peak property.
I give my granddaughter Mattie Wilkes, daughter of Leyburn, and Miss Sarah McGregory [Sarah may be Sarah Matilda Gregory, daughter of Deborah West Duffel Gregory and niece of Matilda Duffel Wilks] five hundred dollars each for their kindness to me.
I also give Walker Bowman all the stock in the land with the household and the kitchen furniture and also the production on the land with crops grown and crops growing with any rents that may be due from tenants on said land.
The balance of my estate both personal and rail [sic] I give to my granddaughters to be managed and controlled for their benefit by my exactor Walker Bowman, who I appoint to act without security as long as he remains single. If he should marry, he then shall give security.

Walker declined to “take upon himself the burden of execution” of the will. Two members of the court posted $10,000 bond and acted as executors. The will was apparently contested and the court action was moved to corporation court in Roanoke.

Children of Benjamin Wilkes, Sr., and Matilda Duffell are:
40. i. Leyburn5 WILKES, b. 12 Jun 1831, Lynchburg, VA; d. 07 Apr 1891.
41. ii. Elizabeth WILKES, b. ca. 1835; d. 1864.
42. iii. Henry C. WILKES, b. Oct 1836.
43. iv. Corbin WILKES, b. 05 Sep 1837, Campbell County, VA, and d. 26 Dec 1881.
v. James Duffel WILKES, b. aft. 15 Jul 1839, Lynchburg, VA; d. 15 Jul 1862, Bedford County, TX. Vincent Miller Wilkes shared with me the following entry in the Horsely Family Bible, written by Elizabeth Wilkes Horsely.
“James Duffel Wilkes, son of Matilda Duffel and Benjamin Wilkes, was born after 15 July 1839 in Lynchburg, VA. He died 15 July 1862 of Erysipelas in Bedford County, VA. Died . . . in the 22nd year of his age. Ah, dear Jimmie it was hard to give thee up, it wrings our poor disconsolate hearts to think that thy noble form, once the pride and joy of us all, should now be lying in the cold and silent grave. Oh that thy dear soul hath taken its flight to a far better and happier world, the only consolation that we have dear Brother in this sad bereavement, in the hope that we may be prepared to meet thee in that upper and better kingdom where parting is no more. Fare thee well Dear Jimmie, fare thee well.”

44. vi. Catherine “Kitty” Matilda WILKS, b. 1842.
45. vii. Benjamin WILKES, Jr., b. 13 or 18 May 1844 in Campbell County, VA; d. in 1920.

Do any of you have the documented DOB for Benjamin Wilkes, Jr.?

Peaks of Otter, Life and Times

Benjamin Wilkes owned the Peaks of Otter during the civil war era. He commercialized the popular spot near Bedford on what is now the Blue Ridge Parkway. He built the first hotel on a site close to the present Peaks of Otter Lodge. There is a national park service marker where the original hotel stood.

His accomplishments were all but forgotten when Peter Viemeister, a transplant to Bedford from NYC, began researching the history of the famous mountains. He tells in Peaks of Otter, Life and Times, the history of the mountain community and the people involved in a fascinating story that spans over a hundred years. The book contains more than 200 maps and illustrations, a 17-page index, color jacket, and 278 cloth hardbound pages. ISBN 0-9608598-9-6 $24.50

The Hotel

In 1853, Benjamin Wilkes, Sr. bought the Peaks of Otter from a Mr. Thompson, paying one dollar an acre for 2,700 acres.

The following is an excerpt from Bedford County, Virginia, 1840-1860, a book found in the Virginia room at the Roanoke City main library.

EARLY TOURISM

Wilkes epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit of pioneer America and obviously had faith in the growth potential of the Peaks area. As early as 1849, Wilkes was granted a license to keep a House of private entertainment,” which he ran with the help of one of his sons, Leyburn Wilkes, According to one source, they apparently succeeded in putting nearby Polly Wood’s ordinary out of business.” A fictionalized account of the conflict between Wilkes and Polly Woods, based on research, probably is near the truth:

... That Wilk’s is rel sneaky n’ tricksy, too ... He got a team ‘n’ wagon ‘n’ went t’ Buchanan ‘n’brung the, people up’t his hotel, went ‘t Liberty,’n’ brung more right up’t his hotel ‘n’ took ‘em right a-past by, ‘th’out e’en lookin’ in! ‘N’ I call that sneaky! Calls ‘em tourists, now, not e’en travelers anymore.’-

Note: the “ordinary”, a small cabin, is still standing and is a tourist attraction at the Peaks of Otter, today a national park. An actor plays Polly on weekends during the main season.

Wilkes had discovered the boom of the tourist trade, and he and his son moved quickly to Capitalize on it. In 1853, just one year after the Johnson family acquired the farm property on Harkening Hill, Wilkes petitioned the General Assembly for permission to construct toll roads up to Flat Top and Sharp Top to collect monies from the increasingly numerous sightseers.” By 1855, Leyburn Wilkes had acquired a license for “wine and ardent spirits to be drunk and sold” at the ordinary,

Then in 1857, Leyburn Wilkes began to build the first hotel in the area, called the Otter Peaks Hotel, with accommodations for 50 people.” A local resident of the area at the time, John W. Early, described the complex as consisting of “Hotel, cabin with four rooms—eight rooms in the Hotel—store house with two rooms—another cabin of two rooms—kitchen—smokehouse—Springhouse—an overseer’s house—wagoner’s house—corn house and large stable—and a rock house on top of the Peaks (Sharp Top] with tin roof.”” A visitor to the hotel, Henry Morgan, described his experience this way:

In less than half a mile from the spring we come to the celebrated “Otter Peak’s House” kept by Mr. Leyburn Wilkes. Better accommodations, more prompt and ready service, and amid more delightful scenery could not be desired. Mr. Wilkes is a young man, kind and affable, whose chief delight is to make the visitors cheerful and happy. He owns both of these mountains, which in time must prove a source of incalculable wealth. His buildings multiply with the increase of travel, and no labor or expense will be spared to make this the most attractive watering place in America. The air is cool and salubrious, and in the hottest season an exhilarating breeze sweeps through the mountain pass, while the low lands of the State are parched, sultry and infected”.

By the time the Wilkeses built their hotel, the Peaks of Otter area had been a thriving tourist destination for many years for many of the reasons given by Morgan. There was road access into the area, a way to escape the heat and disease of the lowlands in summer, and the kind of "sublime" scenery so attractive to the Romantic imagination Of the late eighteenth an early nineteenth centuries. Many tourists, the famous and the forgotten, were well acquainted with the Peaks of Otter by the 1850s.

Among the famous was Thomas Jefferson, who wrote about his measurements of the Peaks in his Notes on the State of Virginia, published in 1785." An often-repeated story, perhaps apocryphal, is attributed to John Randolph, the eccentric Congressman from Roanoke in the early 1800s. Randolph supposedly spent the night on Sharp Top, accompanied by a servant, and when he saw the sunrise from such a majestic height, he told his servant "never to believe anyone who says here is no God. A more interesting version of the story is recounted in Morgan's Peaks of Otter, With Sketches and Anecdotes of Patrick Henry, John Randolph, and Thomas Jefferson, and Other Distinguished Men, Who Have Visited the Peaks of Otter, or resided in That Part of the State (1853). Morgan says:

Since the wild savage from these heights has ceased to sound the war whoop for his assembled Chiefs, comparatively few persons have visited them until the last few years. Indeed, for want of roads, they have been almost inaccessible; none but the adventurous would attempt their ascent, yet Randolph, Jefferson and Patrick Henry found the pleasure of watching the stars and the rising sun, and of gazing upon their respective plantations in the interminable plains below, to exceed the fatigue and exposure of the journey. When the rising sun burst its sea of glory upon the keen eye of John Randolph, and lit up the mountain with burnished gold, he pointed his long bony finger towards the east ("that Javelin of Rhetoric") and exclaimed to his companions: "here let the infidel be convinced in a Deity.

Vincent Wilkes, 1999