Henry Shepherd V, direct descendent of the founder of Shepherdstown, remembers much of his life at the beautiful Belle Vue estate in terms of horses. As a child, his horse, Prince, was just another one of the boys, frolicking during a spirited game of football, getting tackled by Henry and his buddies. Henry claims that when it came to real work, Prince had no idea what he was supposed to do. He was more like Henry’s brother than man’s servant. So it just seemed natural that when Henry’s young bride came to live in the lower cottage at Belle Vue, Henry should make proper introductions. He solemnly guided Prince up the steps and into the living room where a flabbergasted young Clair stood. “I said, ‘Prince, this is my wife, Clair, and from now on you’re going to have to be secondary to her.’”
After Henry and Clair “worked their way up the hill” from the lower cottage to the upper cottage and finally to the main house, horses were not permitted entry to the elegant 18’ x 28’ living room filled with family heirlooms — although Samantha and Toby, the family dogs, do have free reign.
Belle Vue was built on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River in Shepherdstown in 1773 by Captain Joseph Van Swearingen who became an officer in the Revolutionary Army. Originally a one-and-a-half-story stone house, the second story, built of brick, was added twenty years later. The Shepherd family took ownership during the late 19th century, and a second major renovation and addition occurred at the turn of the century. A large addition was built onto the back of the house; two over two windows replaced the original, multi-paned windows; and the long, one-story Victorian-style porch with turned-wooden posts was replaced dramatically by a majestic two-story paved portico with four Ionic columns, two pilasters and decorative dentil molding.
The present stately façade seems a fitting addition to Van Swearingen’s original vision, since his design included such details as arch topped windows and doors capped by brick fans on both the first story stone portion and second story brick addition. The acreage at one time included the nearby developments Cress Creek and Willowdale. While only 55 acres remain in the estate, the property extends down to the Potomac River and protects commanding views from the house’s perch.
Henry’s late wife, Clair, still seems present in the home. From the point of entry, the center hall walls are decorated with her antique fan collection. The seven bedroom, seven fireplace interior holds family heirlooms from both Clair and Henry’s lineage, but Clair’s pieces outnumber Henry’s, since, “she was an only child, and I was one of four.” Much of the furniture is nineteenth century, ranging from the heavy Empire style of the early to mid-nineteenth century to the ornately decorative Victorian pieces from the later 1800s. And it takes a house this size to spaciously accommodate the many pieces without appearing cluttered. The living room measures 18’ x 28’ and is separated into two areas by four ornate columns midway through the room. The sitting area in the first portion holds a fireplace as a focal point; the second area includes a grand piano as its draw.
The dining room has no columns dividing its 18’ x 28’ expanse, and the table very comfortably hosts twelve. Two antique sideboards easily serve the room, one from Henry’s family, one from Clair’s. Topping one of the sideboards is an original oil miniature of Thomas Van Swearingen, born at Belle Vue in 1774 to Joseph and Hannah. To each side of the fireplace are Palladian-inspired windowed cupboards.
Fully paneled walls in both the living and dining rooms date to the turn-of-the-century renovation. The windowsills in these rooms are 18” deep due to the thick stone construction. The entry point into the addition can be detected by the deep doorways necessarily created because of the original stone exterior walls.
The paneling and chair rail in the study dates to the 1770s. An enclosed side porch off the study overlooks the grounds and the Maryland hillside across the river. The kitchen, pantry, a bedroom and back stairway can be found to the rear of the house. Upstairs are six bedrooms, a sitting room and four bathrooms.
The grounds include several other buildings. A 1770s smokehouse was added onto in the early 20th century for laundry facilities, servants’ quarters and garage. It is now used as an office for Henry’s daughter and son-in-law, Gay and Mike Henderson. A milking house includes a 19th century log cabin addition which was moved from another location. A Van Swearingen cemetery holds 18th and 19th century graves. Four other houses and a barn are also included in the estate. Gay and Mike live in the house in which Gay was born, and daughter Sallie and her husband, Peter Spaulding, live on the other side of a stream dividing the grounds. They built their house and operate a nursery on the property.
Henry Shepherd V was born in 1920. His lineage to Thomas Shepherd, who in 1762 laid out and chartered the 50 acres which became Shepherdstown, is direct: Thomas, Abraham, Henry I, II, III, IV, and finally Henry V. Although Henry and Clair had no sons, Gay and Mike named their son “Henry Shepherd Henderson.” They also have a daughter, Katie.
Henry met his wife while he was working for his mother in her Georgetown dress shop, “The Elizabeth Shepherd Shop.” Clair was a friend of Henry’s sister, and they were married six months after their first introduction. Henry’s brief stint as manager of 13 women employed by the dress shop lasted just one year. “That wasn’t much for me. The idea was fascinating, but I ended up having 13 women telling their stories to me. I became Chief Judge of 13 women and their stories.”
He and Clair then moved back to Shepherdstown where they started Shepherd Beverage Service, a vending machine business. After years of providing local establishments with milk, soft drink, candy, cigarette and sandwich machines, Henry sold the business and at age 60 began working in real estate, a career he came to love. He still works in real estate part time, but spends most of his time at Belle Vue.
Although Henry no longer rides horses on the property, daughter Sallie continues the tradition. In fact, two of her horses are appropriately named Sir Henry and Clair’s Delight — a fitting tribute to a foremost Shepherdstown family.
