WESTEND 



O neighborhood In Virginia exceeds that of the 

 Green Springs in its rural charm. There are no 

 magnificent views, no prodigies of nature, but the 

 coloring and exquisite contour of the land, the 

 woods that define and give value to every stretch 

 of field and meadow, make this a country pre- 

 eminently fitted for homes. 



Years ago the little mineral spring, that gives this part of Louisa 

 County its name, was a popular summer resort, but even the oldest 

 inhabitant can just remember the decrepid bath-house that survived 

 the hotel and cottages. 



The rock formation about this spring is confined to a compara- 

 tively small area, several miles long, and two or three miles wide. 

 The rock is soft and speckled throughout with green. It is said 

 to be the bed of a prehistoric lake. 



The soil in this section is particularly fertile, and that, no doubt, 

 tempted the first Watson and the first Morris to come to Louisa 

 County. They, with their descendants, owned the land for over 

 a hundred years and built the homes that are standing today — 

 Ionia, "The Old Place"; Sylvania, Bracketts, Hawkwood, Grass- 

 dale, and Westend. Most of these estates have passed in late years 

 from the hands of their original owners and, as usual, when places 

 pass from hand to hand, the gardens have suffered most. Now, 

 there is barely a trace left of the early gardens with one exception, 

 and that is the garden of Westend. This garden lives today un- 

 touched, a perfect example of the landscape art of its day. 



The house at Westend was built in 1849 by Mrs. James Wat- 

 son, who was Miss Susan Dabney Morris, of Sylvania. Mrs. Wat- 

 son, so far as we know, designed the garden and planted the 

 ground's at Westend herself, but just as we feel Le Notre, at 



[145] 



