The Last King of the Free State

Charlie Ashby

Tucked into the hills of northwestern Fauquier County was a place still known by locals as the Free State—a rural twelve-square-mile region bordered by the Rappahannock Mountains, Orlean, Thumb Run, and the “Graded Road to Marshall” (the road from Marshall to Ada and Hume).

The land was originally part of the Manor of Leeds, an area granted to Lord Fairfax and populated by tenant farmers who were supposed to pay rent. The area was so rural that the collection of said rents was difficult to enforce. Over time, the tenants formed a close-knit society known for settling disputes on their own terms, often with physical force.

The area was later purchased by Chief Justice John Marshall and his brother and brother-in-law who attempted to reinstate the payment of rents. The tenants refused, claiming their leases had expired and the land was theirs.

Eugene Scheel map

Thus, the residents became known as “Free Staters,” and their territory the Free State.

In 1833 Chief Justice Marshall sued successfully for their eviction, and those that stayed were issued new leases.

However, the Free Staters were never very prompt in — or enthusiastic about — payment of rents or taxes until the early part of the 1900s.

Over the years, there was a succession of leaders, or “kings” of the Free State, among them Sandy Jeffries and Tim Bray.

In the late 1800s, Charlie Ashby, a colorful character and crack shot who lived in Dudie, was known as the last King of the Free State. He represented his still fiercely independent neighbors — unofficially — at the General Assembly in Richmond.

Marshall was known as the capital of the Free State, and old stories tell of the escapades of the Free Staters. Due to their “sport” of galloping through town shooting through windows at lighted lamps, homes in Marshall all included heavy shutters which were closed when the sun went down.

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