A Piece of Count in the ae “IT’S OFF THE BEATEN TRAC say when somebody comes up the hill they're lost or ave come co ‘not many come to see Us.” Kegley is talki about Monterey, the home ouise have lived since 1970. and his wife Standing in a copse on a hill between two golf STORY AND CONTEMPORARY PHOTOS. courses and an industrial park in north Monterey and the surrounding 100-plus acres green, bill otherwise commere yee in what is any pact of the city. But thanks to stewardship and protective easements placed on the property, the land will for the forese part of a 2,000-acre tract owne Fleming, an 18th-century su . statesman and 78 | BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COMIndian fighter who and for 12 days in June of 1781, was act of Virginia, Around 1768, the Seottish-be ‘moved to the property from the Shenandoah Valley, living ina home on the property called Belmone that srstanding, lied in 1795 and is buried in a grave behind the 18th green of Ole Monterey Golf Course, which adjoins the side. The old Ci erty, described nearby U.S. Las “th is no lon Flemin; leys' land on the northwest once ran past the prop: a historical marker on tlers passed going sout Tavern and the Tinker Monterey was built some 50 years afte reek Presbyterian Church.” Yelverton Oliver, who liter became one of postinastets of Big Lick (Roanoke’s name until it was chartered as a city in 1884). Listed in both the National Historic Register and the Vi Landmarks Register, the home stand: known more for its brick four-sq and colonials than the Greek revival style that defines this old home. Constructed with Flemish bond brickwork, a ashes, it commands remarkable views of the Roanoke Valley and the Mill Mountain Star to the southwest, and neatby Read Mou wortheast The home is similar architecturally to homes found in the Gulf Coast region. Tradition holds that Oliver enjoyed traveling to New Orlears to race and bet on horses, and that he brought a liete bit of the Big Easy back to the Blue Ridge mountains with hit ‘Monterey isa deceptively low-looking structure, its frone domi ina style that hot Louisiana Doric comic nd triple-huy George Kegley stand on ther back poceh nove. The {9th-century home stand on wat omains of fan T8th-oentury trac of ana, MAYIJUNE 2010 | 79saor.Acapion summers prone co the occasional Gulf ‘ofthe Read 7 het jeg Bee betray ics mounenin roots a the wontseyAik, earth slopes away In the rea, Read on front revealing a ground floor where porh=vieior Fevealing a ground floor wh ee MEG onge says there used to he a aroha school Olivers wife once sid tof ~ Frank and him in a letter while he was away | water Read on Pater Ready in Louisiana that she was tired GarkanaNione of thelr home being called “the i eae house on the hill” and christened wo go NSES i Monterey, pethaps out ofa fs Morte} cination forall things Mexican sec. Yoheron during the Mexican-American War sodcahene ihe uid 18 [sic] Oliver. he mid-1640s The Read family, for whom the moun- tain rising behind Monterey is named, acquired the home and adjoining land when Betsy Read purchased 0s. George adkds that records show as many a8 50 African slaves living at Monterey during the Civil War, though the slave cabin that ‘once stood behind the house is long gone. Today, a local elemencary school beats the Monterey name in addition to the golf course, which was built in the 1920s by Frank Read. The other golf course that sandwiches the property, Blue Hills, was built by Frank Read!’ sister, Nonie, at the some time: Aside from the two golf courses that were carved off, che property stayed in the Read family until it from Oliver in the I 180 | BLUERIDOECOUNTRY.COM 1968, Emma Read Oppenhimes, a family friend, had come in from Richmond to exch with the ge Ch smily, and mentioned to Louise that Monterey might be for sale. Several months later, the Kegleys bought it and raised four children there “We were in the county when we went out there “When we were annexed (by the City of Roanoke), we had to have a street name, so we had a con- test and our daughter Sissy named it Tinker Creek Lane.” Tinker Creek, made famous by Annie Dillard in her book "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek," ambles past the front ‘of the property on its way to the Roanoke River a few shore miles downstream, says George Life at Monterey was an adventure for the Kegley children. George recounted their way of life in 2008 in the newsletter of the Western Virginia Land Trust, where he sits on the board of trustees “As the children grew up, we had hay rides, sleigh rides and picnics, walks over the hills, golf all searches and we picked blackberries, raspber- ries and asparagus along the fencerows. We hulled and cracked a few walnuts. The child trees and sometimes we sat on the porches and reac n climbedcor watched the world go by. Early on, we bought an cold hand-turned cider press and this enabled produc tion of many gallons of pure apple juice, a few from ‘our own apple trees here but mainly from Botetourt ‘County, Bene Mountain or any source we could find.” George knew about conservation ea permanent legal agr to preserve their land in its natural or rural state from his volunteer work with the land trust, but Louise wasn’t convinced an easement was right for Monterey. George says one day Sissy came in with ‘a newspaper article about another family protecting thei farm with an easement and asked, “Why can't we do this here?” Finally, Louise gave in and had the papers drawn up in 2007, The Kegleys have two easen yents that landowners sign ints on the prop- with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources that protects the hom xl another with the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, th protects the Kegleys' 116 acres of land. The easements allow them to subdivide the property one time, limit them to one additional house of less than 2,000 square feet and protect the banks of Tinker Creek with 35-foot bu fer zones ~ and allow for environmentally friendly electric production in the fort of winds panels, ills ors ind for an information kiosk should the home ever become a museum. For information on these proper Chiiery. 1-800-999-1020 Visit us online at Real Estate www.l Ree BRICK HOME within walking distance wo Lake PEACE & QUIET in ETN. 29 aeres w/2 BR, 2.BA home. Spring-fed stocked pond widock, Men views, $149,900 BLUE RIDGE CABIN BR, 1 BA on 14 VA acre new updates, ‘acre hunting/hikin Shenandoah River. $79,000 Find Your Freedom’ ‘United Country® Real Estate Samplers feature great popes rom Coast 19 Coss Fora FREE SAMPLER use the Realer Service Crd st, 832 preserve & Today the Keyleys lease the pastures to a local farmer who runs several dozen head of cactle on it year-round and cuts hay in the warm months. A his- rorian, George often takes the long view. He once wrote of his and Louise’ preservation efforts: fe do not know what the future holds for our farm and our old house. Bue we ate comfortable with the protection of the consery: nent. We know it will not be a huge subdivision with rows of houses across the hills. Perhaps one of our children oor grandchildren will return to their childhood! home ‘to watch over the land someday.” 3X itedCountry.com/blue Tho view from the pasture looking toward Mil Mountain and downtown Roanoke, “Mirsposr 382 Buuz Rings Panxwar, Asuzviius, NC On Many Aceess to 400 ‘930 Tuner Roan/Hwy 70, Asuevin (Opun Mon-Sat: 1oAm-6pxt | 828-298-7903 Ss WWeRAFTOUILD.ORG: Ta seaters Hind Cn ade tnt MAYJUNE Ist