Aspen Hall, in Martinsburg, is a native-limestone Georgian manor house with a very long history. Construction was begun sometime around 1745 by a Quaker settler named Edward Beeson. It later become Fort Mendenhall, and by 1761 it was the site of a wedding attended by George Washington. Aspen Hall is at the end of Boyd Avenue in a hollow alongside Tuscarora Creek, shaded by giant locusts that were probably saplings in Washington’s time. Next to it is another, smaller cottage and the 1754 blockhouse of the fort. A walk bounded by a rock wall and border of plants leads to a gazebo by the creek, complementing a shady patio.
Inside, Aspen Hall’s central hall is furnished with Empire furniture and Oriental rugs. One of the front parlors has 12-foot ceilings, 19th-century antique furniture, a piano, and swag draperies. The other is a library where retired antiques dealers Gordon and Lou Anne Claucherty serve daily afternoon tea to the overnight guests. Each bedroom is different. A favorite is the Gentleman’s Room, with a fireplace, four-poster canopy bed, and claw-foot tub.
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