heir wagons or from stalls
to a milling crowd of brokers, wholesalers, retail grocers, hotelmen,
and boardinghouse keepers. Most produce was sold by 7 A.M. and the
farmer who did not sell out by that time generally had to sell at a
sacrifice price or else remain in the market throughout the day,
selling at retail to customers who attended the market later in the
day.[64] With luck, therefore, the market produce farmer from Northern
Virginia might expect to be on his way home by noon.

Not all of Fountain Beattie's orchard produce, however, went to the
market in this way. The spring house on the farm contained presses,
storage facilities, and other equipment needed to make apple cider,
applejack, and apple and peach brandy. Apples picked in the ripening
season were stored in large barrels until the fall and winter months,
at which time they were made into fermented or distilled beverages.
According to his descendants, Beattie operated a licensed distillery
and made brandies at the farm.

Beattie's livestock operations at the farm ended in tragedy one day
when he returned home to find that his barn had caught fire and been
completely destroyed. The contents of the barn, which included all of
his livestock and much of the farm equipment, were also lost. Only the
horse he was riding at the time remained to start rebuilding the farm.
As matters turned out, too much had been lost; Fountain Beattie never
did more than acquire a few horses to perform the most necessary
tasks. The dairy herds and field crops were never developed to the
thriving level of activity which typified the 1880's and 1890's.[65]

POLITICS AND PUBLIC SERVICE. The close association of Fountain Beattie
and John S. Mosby during the war years (1861-65) lasted through the
years of peace that followed. The two men apparently thought alike in
political matters; and, in the election of 1872, they campaigned for
General Grant. Shortly afterward, Beattie was appointed Deputy
Collector of Internal Revenue for the Sixth District of Virginia.
Following Hayes' election as President, Mosby received an appointment
as Consul in Hong Kong where he served until 1885.[66]

Fountain Beattie's record with the Internal Revenue Service shows that
he served from 1875 to 1914 and suggests that he settled in or near
Alexandria several years before he purchased Green Spring Farm.[67]
He was reappointed in 1885 following the brief return of the
Democratic Party to power under G