George W. Imboden Born in Augusta County, Virginia, George William Imboden (June 25, 1836-January 8, 1922) became a distinguished attorney, Confederate soldier, and a leading citizen of Ansted. After attending Staunton Academy, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1858. In 1859, he married Mary Frances Tyree, daughter of an Ansted innkeeper. Imboden enlisted in the Southern service on April 17, 1861. He rose to the rank of colonel by December 1862, when he took command of the 18th Virginia Calvary which fought at Chancellorsville and in many other battles. He was seriously wounded at Gordonsville, Virginia. Moving to Fayette County in 1870, Imboden actively promoted industrialization of the two Virginias. His older brother and business partner, Gen. John D. Imboden, had already established himself politically in Virginia. George acted as attorney and served as a director of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company, the Loup Creek Colliery, and the Deepwater Railway. Imboden served Ansted and Fayette County from 1870 to 1922, holding office in the House of Delegates (1876), as president of the Fayette County Commission (1881–85), first mayor of Ansted (1891–92), and town recorder (1891–1907). A tall, slender man with piercing eyes and a no-nonsense military demeanor, he married Angia M. Dickinson, daughter of a Fayette County pioneer in 1869, after the death of his first wife. George W. Imboden died at home and was buried in Confederate gray in Westlake Cemetery. His home in Ansted, known as Contentment, is a National Register property that now serves as a Fayette County museum. Contentment Standing contentedly at the western edge of Ansted, this one-story house, fronted by a wide, comfortable porch, recalls cottage rows at many antebellum springs resorts. The resemblance is not coincidental. Built about 1830, the house stood close to the James River & Kanawha Turnpike (now U.S. 60), which also passed by White Sulphur Springs. Due to the slope of the land, rear rooms are at a slightly higher level than those in front, and are reached by several steps in the hall, an early instance of a ‘‘split level’’ arrangement. In 1874, Col. George Imboden, who had traversed the area earlier as a Confederate officer, bought the house, added two rooms on the western end, and lengthened the porch. Imboden and David T. Ansted, an English geologist, were instrumental in opening coal mines in Fayette County, and when the settlement near the house was incorporated as a town in 1891 it was named for Ansted, with Imboden the first mayor. Imboden’s second wife gave their home the name Contentment. The Fayette County Historical Society maintains the house, which is furnished in period antiques, as the centerpiece of a museum complex open in summer months. Contentment was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 01:31:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015