Bedford County

"Redlands", home today of S.H. Saunders, chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the past twenty years, was built by James Watts, who came from Madison Co., Va., about 1801, and acquired a large tract of land on the north side of the county near Liberty (now Bedford).

"Redlands" is situated about one and a half miles from the town and about three hundred yards east of the road to the Peaks of Otter. It is a brick colonial building, but Mr. Saunders has made some additions to the house which have somewhat changed its original appearance. The view from the front, looking south, commands a magnificent stretch of open country, the beautiful, rolling fields in the immediate foreground being a part of the estate.

James Watts married Elizabeth Durrett of Albemarle County, and they had a number of children, among whom were James, Jr., who inherited that part of the land on which the manor house stood, and Richard D., who built "Montpelier", later the home of John H. Watts, and now owned by Harry H. White.

After the death of James Watts, Jr., "Redlands" became the property of his nephew, Col. James Watts, an officer in the Confederate Army and a wealthy and influential citizen of Lynchburg. Col. Watts sold the place to Mr. Saunders, who is one of the most progressive farmers of the county.

The early members of the Watts family are buried in the family graveyard near the house.

(The above history is found on a handwritten page in a Watts family file found at the Library of Virginia. The author is unknown.)