Calfpasture River Grant

surveys fpr 15 miles along the Calfpasture River were only about one mile wide
Source: Library of Congress, Colonial land patents and grantees: Calfpasture Rivers, Augusta County, Virginia (1947)

James Patton and John Lewis, who had partnered to recruit settlers to William Beverley's grant in the 1730's obtained their own grant for 10,500 acres on the Calfpasture River in 1743. The Governor's Council approved an additional 16,500 acre grant in 1744.

Patton and Lewis completed a survey in 1744 that was 15 miles long but only about one mile wide. The parcels encompassed the bottomland in the valleys and minimized the acreage on steep slopes where no crops could be grown.

Recruitment of 32 families meet the required number of settlers (one family per 1,000 acres) to qualify for patenting that land. However, Psatton and Lewis retained ownership of much of the grant. Only 15 families ended up with title to the parcels where they settled. The transfer of those property rights occurred between 1745-1750.¹

Beverley Manor

Encouraging Settlement and Land Grants West of the Blue Ridge

The Land Companies of Colonial Virginia

Links

• Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
• The Early Westward Movement of Virginia, 1722-1734. As Shown by the Proceedings of the Colonial Council (Continued)

References