Elk Hill

About a mile southwest is Elk Hill, once owned by Thomas Jefferson. The land was patented by John Woodson in 1715 and was later acquired by John Wayles, father of Martha Wayles. Martha lived here with her first husband, Bathurst Skelton, who left her a widow in 1768 at the age of 19. Martha married Thomas Jefferson in 1772. Her sister inherited Elk Hill, but Martha and Thomas Jefferson purchased it in 1778. During the Revolutionary War, British Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis made Elk Hill his headquarters for several days in June 1781. His troops destroyed the barns, and a number of enslaved African Americans left with the army. Jefferson sold Elk Hill in 1799.