Virginia's 250th Anniversary - Santillane

Santillane is the grand ol’ dame of Fincastle.

The pre-civil war estate was once home to Judith Hancock Clark, wife of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

It was restored in 2008. Much of the decorative trim turned out to be plaster instead of painted wood as originally thought. There was wallpaper to remove – even on the ceilings - and cobwebs to sweep. Original chandeliers lay stored in boxes and vintage clothes hung in wardrobes far too large to ever be removed from the home.

The house has 14 rooms, counting foyers and bathrooms. All have been restored.

The house boasts extremely high ceilings, a staircase that looks like something out of Gone with the Wind, a pewter chandelier with a date of 1726 etched into it, hardwood floors, original wallpaper in the living room, original glass in the windows, and elegant touches around the ceilings.

Legend holds the original Santillane burned and was rebuilt. However, signatures on the plaster, which has held up remarkably well, date back to the very early 1800s.

Santillane is on the National Register of Historic Places. A marker on US 220 calls it “one of Botetourt County’s most distinguished properties. The Greek Revival house sits on a tract of land originally owned by Colonel George Hancock, a member of the United States Congress from 1793-1797. 

In 1808 Hancock's daughter, Judith, married General William Clark. Clark served from 1803 to 1806 as a leader of Thomas Jefferson's famous Lewis and Clark expedition which was instrumental in opening the West for American settlement.”

Colonel George Hancock

George Hancock’s first appearance in Botetourt is in 1781 when he married Margaret Strother of Fincastle. He appeared again in 1782 when he obtained a license to practice law in the county. In 1785,

Hancock was appointed a colonel in the county militia; he also served as Botetourt County’s Commonwealth Attorney. He was the first citizen of Botetourt County to serve in the Congress of the United States. He later moved from Fincastle to Fotheringay in Montgomery County, where he died in 1820.

Hancock’s daughter Julia, known also as Judith, was born to Hancock and his wife Margaret on November 21, 1791, in Fincastle. She wed William Clark, the famous explorer, in January 1808. Clark reportedly named the Judith River in Montana after the young girl he left in Fincastle while he sought a route to the Pacific.