This seems as good as time as any to renew the posts about Place Names of the Northern Neck, by Mary R (Rita) Miller (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1983) DISCLOSURE: Just down the road from my home, "Falling Oaks", in Litwalton, is Bunny's Garage, where he used to sell bumper stickers that say: NUTTSVILLE: VIRGINIA "RATED ONE OF THE AMERICA'S BEST SMALL TOWNS" BY U.S.A. TODAY Bunny swears it is really true, and the bumper sticker is proudly displayed on my refrigerator door conversation piece. It then promotes Bunny's Service Center, 2699 Morattico Road, Lancaster, VA. "Bunny" is really Carl Hardy. But everyone knows him as "Bunny." In fact, if you walk in there and call him Carl, you might come under suspicion by the FBI for whom is wife and her sister both work. (This is not a secret) With that modern day backdrop I'll recite here what Rita Miller had to say about the place name of Nuttsville. ____________ Quote: NUTTSVILLE: Settlement and Post Office. Lancaster Co. northwest of Lively. According to Martin*, it was established about 1800, and the post office dated from1818 to 1818. In 1835, Nuttsville consisted of two dwellings , one store, one blacksmith, and one tailor shop. The post office was moved to Litwalton in 1841." The back and forth of the location of the local post office was purely political affair, but it is certain that the Mitchell family in Litwalton also held that privilege at their "Litwalton Enterprise" (now "Falling Oaks) in 1841. It has moved back forth and up and down the road depending on who was holding office in the US Congress. For now, it is in Nuttsville and has been for about 50 years. That being said, if the USPS is going to be downsizing any time soon, this will be one of the offices slated to be closed, along with Mollusk and Morattico. _____________ So, from this we do not learn why it was named Nuttsville in the first place, but Mary Miller also has this to say about that (to paraphrase Richard Nixon): NUTTSVILLE: Tract. Lancaster County at the present settlement of the same name. "Originally the property of JOHN CHINN, it was inherited by Chinn's daughter Elizabeth who married William O. Nutt, for whom it is named. Shortly after their marriage in 1798, he began construction of a large frame house, which burned in 1929. The tract has given its name to the settlement and former post office." _____________ It is also the current post office, and the little area is predominantly African-American and the site of frequent flashing lights from county vehicles. _____________ Conclusion: I do not who William O. Nutt was, and this needs more research. I can say with some certainty that the a study of early postmasters by Christine Adams Jones, whose manuscripts are at the MBW, will something to say about it, as well as other publications held at MBW published by the USPS. And while I'm at it, nobody knows where the name "Litwalton" came from. It was first called that in the will of William Ball Mitchell in 1842, when he carved out 5 acres of what is now "Falling Oaks" in his will calling it "my Litwalton Enterprise." Craig

Interesting. I pulled up my description of Oakley which lists it in Nuttsville and describes it on StR. 622 near Nuttsville. So in google mapping this area I find CHINN'S POND. Did a street view and it is little bit more than a "pond" lol. Can you tell me about this location? Janean -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Craig Kilby Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 9:31 PM To: Northern Neck Northern Neck List Subject: [VA-NORTHERN-NECK] Place Name: Nuttsville--CHINN This seems as good as time as any to renew the posts about Place Names of the Northern Neck, by Mary R (Rita) Miller (Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1983) DISCLOSURE: Just down the road from my home, "Falling Oaks", in Litwalton, is Bunny's Garage, where he used to sell bumper stickers that say: NUTTSVILLE: VIRGINIA "RATED ONE OF THE AMERICA'S BEST SMALL TOWNS" BY U.S.A. TODAY Bunny swears it is really true, and the bumper sticker is proudly displayed on my refrigerator door conversation piece. It then promotes Bunny's Service Center, 2699 Morattico Road, Lancaster, VA. "Bunny" is really Carl Hardy. But everyone knows him as "Bunny." In fact, if you walk in there and call him Carl, you might come under suspicion by the FBI for whom is wife and her sister both work. (This is not a secret) With that modern day backdrop I'll recite here what Rita Miller had to say about the place name of Nuttsville. ____________ Quote: NUTTSVILLE: Settlement and Post Office. Lancaster Co. northwest of Lively. According to Martin*, it was established about 1800, and the post office dated from1818 to 1818. In 1835, Nuttsville consisted of two dwellings , one store, one blacksmith, and one tailor shop. The post office was moved to Litwalton in 1841." The back and forth of the location of the local post office was purely political affair, but it is certain that the Mitchell family in Litwalton also held that privilege at their "Litwalton Enterprise" (now "Falling Oaks) in 1841. It has moved back forth and up and down the road depending on who was holding office in the US Congress. For now, it is in Nuttsville and has been for about 50 years. That being said, if the USPS is going to be downsizing any time soon, this will be one of the offices slated to be closed, along with Mollusk and Morattico. _____________ So, from this we do not learn why it was named Nuttsville in the first place, but Mary Miller also has this to say about that (to paraphrase Richard Nixon): NUTTSVILLE: Tract. Lancaster County at the present settlement of the same name. "Originally the property of JOHN CHINN, it was inherited by Chinn's daughter Elizabeth who married William O. Nutt, for whom it is named. Shortly after their marriage in 1798, he began construction of a large frame house, which burned in 1929. The tract has given its name to the settlement and former post office." _____________ It is also the current post office, and the little area is predominantly African-American and the site of frequent flashing lights from county vehicles. _____________ Conclusion: I do not who William O. Nutt was, and this needs more research. I can say with some certainty that the a study of early postmasters by Christine Adams Jones, whose manuscripts are at the MBW, will something to say about it, as well as other publications held at MBW published by the USPS. And while I'm at it, nobody knows where the name "Litwalton" came from. It was first called that in the will of William Ball Mitchell in 1842, when he carved out 5 acres of what is now "Falling Oaks" in his will calling it "my Litwalton Enterprise." Craig ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message