The Reunion at Mt Union
Today the spirit of two old gunsmiths was brought together at Mt. Union Cemetery in Botetourt County. John Painter and John Sites were both mid to late 19th century craftsmen living in the county. Both were gun makers.
Painter was born in 1810 and died in 1900. It is reported that he was active up until a few years prior to his death. Painter’s shop is reported to have been in or around Haymakertown. He was also known as “The Gun Maker of Tinker Mountain.” Painter opened his shop in 1830.
John Sites left Botetourt County in 1835 heading west. He settled in Missouri and his life as a gun maker is better documented there than in Virginia. His shop is reported to have been at the edge of Fincastle on the road to the river (James River?). Both of these artisans were working at the same time (1830 to 1835), in the same trade and in the same community. Certainly they were acquainted.
The rifles they made (American Long Rifles) were an essential tool of life in that time. They provided protection and food. They were always near and always ready as life in that day was wrought with many uncertainties. I n many situation that rifle, loaded with a charge of black powder and a patched round ball became the key to survival. We often hear it said, “if only these rifles could talk, the stories they could tell.” How true.
The top rifle has a barrel, trigger guard and patch box that are in the style of John Sites. The quatrefoil finial of the patch box is a common Virginia feature and is frequently found on Sites rifles and is not typical of Painter rifles. The barrel of this rifle is signed in script, “John Sites”. But if you look closely and study the lines of the top rifle you will find similarities to the lower rifle made by and signed by John Painter. The conclusion is unmistakable. The top rifle was originally made by Sites but somehow on some day and under unknown circumstances the rifle stock was damaged or broken beyond repair but yet the components were still functional so the owner took the broken rifle to John Painter with a request to repair, restore or re-stock it. When that may have happened is unknown but it was most likely after Sites had left for Missouri and when Painters shop was perhaps the only place such repairs could be made. Painter was probably the last of the “old time” gun makers working in the county.
We can only speculate how it was broken so let your imagination run with it. It may have been used as a club to defend the owner after his only shot missed its intended target. The owner may have fallen off his horse and down an embankment while in pursuit of game OR maybe while fleeting unsavory characters that were set upon doing him harm. Or is simply may have been burned in a camp fire by accident.
But however it may have been damaged John Painter became the one to put in back in usable condition. Fortunately both of these rifles found their way into the hands of people who would wish to preserve them so they may stand as a tribute to Botetourt County’s past.
John Painter and John Sites, together again in 2024.
