Summit Point, West Virginia
| Summit Point | |
|---|---|
| Unincorporated community | |
  Summit Point Location within the state of West Virginia | |
| Coordinates: 39°14′58″N 77°57′31″W / 39.24944°N 77.95861°WCoordinates: 39°14′58″N 77°57′31″W / 39.24944°N 77.95861°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Jefferson |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 1,026 |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 25446 |
| GNIS ID | 1555747[1] |
Summit Point is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It lies along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the intersection of West Virginia Secondary Route 1 and Summit Point Pike. According to the 2000 census, the Summit Point community has a population of 1,026.[2] It is home to the Summit Point Motorsports Park. The current mayor is the Hon. Donald C. Owens.
White House Farm, located along the Summit Point-Charles Town Road, is perhaps the oldest house in the Summit Point area. The property was deeded to Dr. John McCormick, an Irish physician, in 1740. An early plantation in the vicinity of Summit Point was the Bullskin Plantation, purchased by eighteen-year-old George Washington in 1750. He bought 453 acres (1.83 km2) along the North Fork of the Bullskin Run from Robert Rutherford. Over the next several years, George Washington added another 1,558 acres (6.31 km2) to the plantation. By 1755, he built a small stone building where he stayed during his brief visits to the plantation. This portion of the property was later called Rockhall. In 1769, he divided the remainder of the property into 200-acre (0.81 km2) tracts, which he leased to tenant farmers. Washington owned the vast Bullskin Plantation tract until his death in 1799.
Summit Point was the scene of the Battle of Summit Point during the American Civil War on August 21, 1864. This inconclusive battle occurred during Major General Philip Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign which took place between August and December 1864. As Maj. Gen. Sheridan concentrated his army near Charles Town, Lt. Gen. Jubal Early and Maj. Gen. Richard H. Anderson attacked the Federals with converging columns on August 21. Anderson struck north against the Union cavalry at Summit Point. The Federals fought effective delaying actions, withdrawing to near Halltown on the following day. The battle resulted in approximately 1,000 casualties.
In the 1960s, Summit Point began to grow. New housing developments and other construction continue to date, creating a widespread community around the periphery of this historic town.
Perhaps the most historic farm in Summit Point is Hawthorn, owned and operated by the Thomson family since the late 18th century when Dr. John A. Thomson of Berryville, VA married Lucy Rootes Throckmorton. Although records do not indicate when the original log structure was built at Hawthorn, tax records show it was first assessed in 1711 and a stone addition was added in 1845. Currently on 230 acres, Hawthorn is adjacent to another family-owned farm of 220 acres. Dr. John Thomson had a number of distinguished descendants including his grandson, Dr. Augustus Pembroke Thomson, who was graduated from the Virginia Military Institute and served as a New Market Cadet. Although he practiced medicine for a time, he devoted most of his life to farming and fruit growing. Today, Hawthorn is still owned by the Thomson family and two members of this family have just completed a full scale renovation of the main house and adjacent outbuildings.
