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SALISBURY, built as a hunting lodge during the 18th Century by the Randolph Family, stood directly across the James River from the Randolph plantation, Tuckahoe. As Governor of Virginia in 1784, Patrick Henry rented the 1500 acre farm from Thomas Mann Randolph. Later, While Salisbury still served as home to Governor Henry, Mr. Randolph sold the estate to Dr. Philip Turpin. During the Revolutionary War, Dr. Turpin, enroute from Scotland to Virginia was captured by the British and forced to serve as a surgeon on English Ships. Dr. Turpin was subsequently accused of being a Tory; his possessions, including Salisbury, were confiscated. However, the influence of Thomas Jefferson helped secure an unconditional release of Dr. Turpin's property.

Upon his death, Dr. Turpin bequethed Salisbury to his daughter, Caroline and her husband, Dr. Edward Johnson. Mrs. Johnson, in turn, left the property to her sons, Edward and Philip Turpin Johnson. Edward Johnson graduated from West Point, as did his neighbor, Henry Heth, of adjoining "Black Heath". Confederate generals Edward Johnson and Henry Heth served gallantly during the Civil War. It was General Heth who touched off the Battle of Gettysburg.

The present central section of the Salisbury Country Club has been designed along the lines of the original "Salisbury" which stood nearby. This dormered story-and-a-half frame house burned around 1920. It boasted central halls, airy spacious rooms, and porches shaded by a grove of giant trees, among them an ancient pecan, which stood until 1977. Salisbury's real frame lay then, as now, in its hospitality.