15 Laurel Mills Rd, Castleton, VA 22716

A quiet country road in the heart of Rappahannock County leads to an idyllic property in Castleton, Virginia. It sparkles with history, simple sophistication, handcrafted interiors, welcoming outdoor spaces, and an ideal location with perfect privacy. It has a storybook setting that feels as natural as the bedrock that peeks out of the forest floor. A tree-lined driveway leads to the home that began as a simple two-story chestnut log-cabin built in the 1790s when the area was still very much the frontier. For over two centuries, the cabin was a tenant house on a much larger farm of over 1,000 acres. The cabin on 25.6 acres was completely renovated, remade and enlarged with extraordinary care by a master furnituremaker in 1988. Now it is one of Rappahannock County’s finest restorations with historically accurate hardware, original heart pine floors, original fieldstone fireplace, period appropriate architectural details and an abundance of ambience. Additions for living space, a kitchen, sleeping quarters and an office compliment were meticulously crafted with a patina that matches the original cabin. The home features two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen with handmade cabinets and cherry counter tops, a family room with a dining area, many interesting nooks and alcoves and an attached garage/workshop. An expansive screened-porch and a sweeping deck overlook the grounds and a large pond at the edge of the forest. The home is surrounded by pine and hardwood forest with no other houses in sight. The main floor consists of the original cabin, now used as a warm and intimate living room anchored by a fieldstone fireplace, an office/den with a storybook sleeping loft above, a cozy study with exposed logs, and a full bath. The kitchen has open sight lines into the inviting living/dining space opens to the deck for easy entertaining. The screened porch is accessed from the front porch, the office, and the deck. Upstairs is the en suite primary bedroom that has an adjoining bonus room, a large walk-in closet and a second bedroom complete with a fireplace, exposed logs, and room for a king-sized bed. The 25.6-acre property is a great balance of open and wooded land with numerous hidden meadows for exploring, birding and stalking wildflowers. The pond is brimming with bass and blue gill, attracting herons, king fishers and their smaller feathered friends. An old half mooned outhouse, a spring house, tractor shed and several smaller barns add an old homesteading charm to the property. Mill Run flows across the back of the property and is fed by two streams that cross the terrain.