Johnson's Orchards & Winery

1218 Elmos Road Bedford, VA 24523 The Peaks of Otter has been an existing community of people for more than 80 centuries. Cherokee Indians, European pioneers, their escendants, travelers, and tourists have used the area to hunt, camp, and to live on and farm the land. Near the end of the nineteenth century, at the site of the present Peaks of Otter Lodge, was the thriving community of Mons. There were at least 20 families in the community, a church, an elementary school, two mills, an Odd Fellows lodge, and the Hotel Mons. The history of the Johnson family is intertwined with the history of the Mons community and the Peaks of Otter. They were tied to the development of the hotel and to the area’s tourism industry. Virginia Illustrated:Containing a Visit to the Virginian Canaan, and the Adventures of Porte Crayon and His Cousins. New York: Harper and Brothers,1857. Barrett Library. Shown: "South Peak of Otter, from the Hotel." The Peaks area was established as a farming community when Thomas Wood first settled here in 1766. The cabin in which he took up residence is now referred to as The Johnson Farm. In 1852, John Therone and Mary Elizabeth Johnson bought the four-room cabin and the land on Harkening Hill. Two generations of Johnsons had lived on the mountain prior to this purchase. They were Castleton Johnson, John T.’S father and John Johnson, his grandfather. John T and Mary had 13 children that helped with the cash crops of cabbage, tomatoes, and potatoes. The family garden included vegetables used by the family. They raised sheep and operated a distillery in a nearby hollow making apple brandy from the trees on the farm. This was sold to an early hotel, The Hotel Mons. This part of the farm would remain in the family for three generations. The Hotel Mons, Latin name for mountain, was applied to the hotel at an undetermined time. The Otter Peaks Hotel, the name preceding Mons, opened its’ doors in 1857. At this time there was only one building proper with outbuildings including a barn and a springhouse. The hotel burned in 1870 but was promptly rebuilt. The Otter Peaks Hotel provided food and lodging for almost 50 years and then a larger hotel was built just west of the one rebuilt after the fire. The hotel had accommodations for 40 guests and was a summer landmark for people coming from as far away as Maine, California, and England. The Mons closed its’ doors in 1936. Civilian Conservation Corps workers and other families lived in the hotel proper until the National Park Service dismantled all of the buildings of the Mons complex sometime in the early 1940’s. Jason Johnson, the favored son of John T. and Mary Elizabeth, bought the farm from his parents in 1884 for $410 and 220 acres of his grandfather’s, Castleton Johnson, from heirs. Jason brought the house to its’ present appearance with the addition of the dining room, kitchen and various porches and storage rooms. Jason was born with a clubfoot but wasn’t bothered by this handicap and with his wife Mary Jane (Jennie) Cottrell produced nine children, two of whom died before aged 10, and kept up the tradition of being self-sufficient farmers. Trips to town were rare and only to sell their goods and buy coffee, flour, and sugar. Jason, because of his disability, often planted from horseback and according to a grandchild could hoe across a garden as quickly on his knees as most people could standing. The large apple and peach orchards flourished during this time on the terraced slopes of Flat Top Mountain. The best quality apples were shipped to England. Others found their way into gallons of apple butter made by the community. Jason and Jenny and their family were tied economically to the Hotel Mons as were many in the community. Many family members were employees of the hotel. The hotel purchased goods from the families as well. Jason and Jennie often took in overflow boarders; the children ran errands and served as guides for hotel guests. Some of the children