Last Saturday following the Grand Opening of our new local brewery, Old Bust Head Brewing Company at Vint Hill, we went for a beer tasting and sampled several of the brewery’s fabulous new beers. (I love that their main ingredient is Fauquier County’s own well water). Among their selections, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Wildcat India Pale Ale featuring Charlie Ashby, last president of The Free State, on its label.
Though Charlie is not mentioned by name in “House Key”, the reference to his photograph is, in Chapter One: Cheap Rent along with a brief summary of the history of the Free State. A colorful description appears on the Bust Head Brewing Company website, however, so I have quoted it here:
About the Name:
Wildcat IPA – Throughout history there have been those who lead, and those who follow, and – like the early settlers on Wildcat Mountain – those who just like to go their own way. In this age of super-hopped IPAs, we’re breaking from the pack by crafting a brew that allows you to enjoy a strong herbal complexity without knocking your socks off. Carefully crafted to deliver a bold hop flavor while maintaining a smooth aftertaste, Wildcat IPA is for all you independent folk who insist on drinkable beer.
The name ‘Wildcat’ recalls Fauquier County’s infamously independent-minded ‘Free State’ community that once occupied roughly 12 square miles of hilly terrain from Wildcat Mountain to Thumb Run. This area was first settled by tenant farmers who tamed the land for the ultimate benefit of their wealthy absentee landlords.
In time, however, these setters were no longer interested in recognizing the claims of the lawful owners, or any outside authority for that matter. For generations, they lived relatively independent of local governance recognizing only the authority of those characters who earned their high regard for one reason or another, claiming the title ‘King of the Free State’.
It is said that the first King of the Free State was a huge and intimidating man who lived at the
base of Wildcat Mountain. Charlie Ashby, who adorns our Wildcat label, was the last
legendary King of the Free State.
He was known as a crack-shot and a bit of a wild hare, and was recalled thus in a local history: Charlie was “large, of medium height and small, but one fact is sure, his whiskers were magnificent.”
We hope you’ll agree, and will remember to go your own way as you enjoy our Wildcat IPA.
*We’d like to thank the Fauquier Heritage and Preservation Foundation for allowing us to use their photo portrait of Charlie Ashby as a reference for our label art. If you’d like to see the original photo, or to learn more about Fauquier’s Free State history, please visit them at 4110 Winchester Road, Marshall, Virginia or on the web at www.fhpf.org/ , or call (540) 364-3440. You can also read more about the Free State by following this link to the Fauquier Historical Society’s historical bulletin: www.fauquierhistory.com/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Free%20State.pdf
That’s the end of the quote.
I hope you enjoyed this description and will also check out the Old Bust Head Brewing Company next time you’re in the area.
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