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JAMES WILLIAM Fletcher lives at Thornton Hill. He is married to Mildred Thornton a direct descendant of Francis. Following the death of the last member of the Shackelford family, who bought Montpelier after the War Between the States, the house became Uie property of “Jim Bill” and “Miss Millie.”
The Thorntons were one of the first families to make their way through the wilderness to Rappahannock. Francis Thornton received a Royal Grant of 40,000 acres—all the property he could ride his horse over in one day. In 1740 he chose a location “more beautiful than any other” to build a house for himself and his descendants.
When Montpelier rose on its elevated hillock overlooking the Hazel River, the squatter hunters came from their humble dwellings to gaze in awe at the great carved foundation stones and columned portico.
Under the ownership of Dr. Philip Thornton, Montpelier reached its peak. The doctor was Edgar Allen Poe’s physician and a member of the Virginia State Legislature. He loved the theater, which he attended whenever he was in Richmond, and where he was on the
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