The Briars, a stuccoed stone, two-story, five-bay dwelling two and a half miles to the northwest, was constructed around 1819 as the home of Dr. Robert Powell Page. His daughter, Mary Francis Page, married John Esten Cooke, a noted Virginia novelist, soldier, and historian, and they moved to the house in 1869. Cooke lived at The Briars until his death in 1886. Besides being a very successful author, Cooke also served during the Civil War with distinction as the chief ordinance officer for Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, C.S.A.