In a previous feature, I remarked that B&Bs are “hit or miss.” Well, I’m happy to report on a B&B that’s, in my book, a big hit. Driving there is also a treat, at least when you get on Highway 81 up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The scenery along this route is stunning, especially with its color-washed mountains in autumn, and rivers flowing through a valley of small dairy farms, barns, grain silos, and steep-roofed houses with stone chimneys. Sometimes, we see deer grazing on the bucolic green slopes.
I think back to when I first became familiar with Northern Virginia. I was stationed at Fort Belvoir outside Washington. My buddies and I enjoyed exploring the small mountain towns west of this U.S. Army post—towns like Luray, famous for its caverns. But I’d never heard of Orange, Virginia, until Cindy stumbled upon Mayhurst Estate on social media. She couldn’t stop talking about this particular B&B’s unique history and the young couple, Jason and Casey Cashell, who purchased and restored it.
According to their website Mayhurstestate.com: In early 2020, the Cashells found themselves at a crossroads. With their four children, they yearned for a life that combined their passions with a sense of purpose. Jason, a modern Renaissance man with a love for history, architecture, and culinary arts, and Casey, a nurturing mother with a flair for photography and homesteading, saw in Mayhurst Estate the perfect canvas for their vision.
Driven by a shared dream, they took a leap of faith and purchased the estate, unaware of the global upheaval that was just weeks away. Three weeks after purchasing Mayhurst, the world was plunged into the chaos of a global pandemic. They had purchased their dream Luxury Bed and Breakfast when the world was quarantined.
What was meant to be a period of joyful transition turned into a baptism by fire. The pandemic brought unprecedented challenges, but the Cashells often say it is a story of survival that they cannot take credit for … it is a story of miracles. It not only took miracles for the dream of Mayhurst to happen, but it took miracles for it to survive. From the initial purchase to the pandemic to the day-to-day challenges of running a historic bed and breakfast, their story is one of resilience and faith. Each day at Mayhurst is a testament to their unwavering commitment to their dream and the goodness and sovereignty of the God who brought them here.
The Cashells and their children elevate hospitality to heartfelt refinement. No pretentiousness here. Just love. This former estate of James Madison’s grandson feels like home. But it’s also a work in progress. As we arrive, Jason is out cutting down a tree. We glimpse the industrious Cashell children dashing here and there. (They each have their own nascent businesses.) Birds are singing, and goats bleat in the distance. Casey receives us like family. We chat like old friends, and laughter flows from our hostess as easily as her words. “We have a ministry here for ministers and their families. Actually, we have a few ministries. That’s just one of them.
Mayhurst is multifaceted. It’s like everything we love in one place. So! You get a very historic room. Robert E. Lee stayed in here. This was actually (General) A.P. Hill’s headquarters for three months during the Civil War. Eighteen thousand soldiers were here. Orange (Virginia) was like the hub for encampments. Right across the road was Zachary Taylor’s place. (Taylor and Lee were related.) There were soldiers up in the cupola; so, there’s handwriting up in the glass windows. General Jackson was here a few times before the encampment. Yeah, lots of history. There are five stories total. You’re welcome to explore. There are sitting areas everywhere.”
We enter the dining room and I comment on a painting of Frederick Douglas. “Yes. He’s a longtime hero of my husband’s,” Casey says. A slave for the first twenty years of his life, Frederick Douglass became a social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was an advisor to Lincoln and an admirer of the U.S. Constitution and the Founding Fathers.
“There are tea stations here. Would you like something now?” We decline. “Well, it’s here whenever you want it. There’s water, coffee, and espresso. You can make lattes too. We have thirty-seven acres with walking trails, a pond, and some ducks. You’ll see them up here … unfortunately.” Every morning at dawn, the ducks walk up the hill and hang out on the back veranda.
Because Mayhurst is so close to D.C., it has become a popular getaway for politicians and congressional staffers. “We had big dreams for what we wanted to do here. But God had even bigger plans. It’s pretty amazing.
Because we’re so close to D.C., we get to meet so many people. We’re, like, an escape for everybody. That was one of those unexpected, didn’t know what the Lord had in store kind of things. We get to minister to D.C.—in a different way—but it’s so cool. When you’re in D.C., it’s got its own everything, and there are barriers and tiers and rank—military and politics and everything. But when they come here, they’re in bathrobes and having coffee, and they’re with their wives and children, and you get to know them just as them. You actually get to have meaningful conversations full of the gospel and about truth. They often come over and over. We’ve had over nine thousand guests in this house in five years. The Lord continually appoints and directs people to come here. And He prepares hearts. We know we’re here to plant seeds in what is a dry and weary land.
Jeff Barganier is a novelist, travel writer and speaker. He travels far and wide upon the slightest excuse for something interesting to write about. His novels include Lawson’s Bluff (2021); The Slash Brokers (1998). He also manages Cindy Barganier Interiors LLC (www.cindybarganier.com) at The Waters in Pike Road, Alabama. Contact Jeff at Jeffbarganier@knology.net. You may print out his features at www.jeffbarganier.com and take them with you when you travel!