The American frontier was the Shenandoah Valley when Lord Fairfax lived there. He chose the wilderness west of the Blue Ridge Mountains to administer his grant. He was the only English Peer to live in the colonies. Why did he choose the wild spaces where Indians still fought fiercely against settlement, while his contemporaries in high society lived comfortably and safely 150 miles to the east in Williamsburg? I am intrigued by Lord Fairfax. Why did he forgo comfort and safety to surround himself with desperate souls who lived close to starvation, exposure and violent death? He reminds me of my fellow Peace Corps volunteers who volunteer to live with impoverished citizens of developing nations. Consider that he owned approximately 5.2 million acres of land indicated by the red lines below. Strange man indeed. What was he seeking in the company of these striving souls? What can such an experience offer? Is there a spiritual redemption to sharing the worst of human suffering?
