Photo courtesy of FindAGrave.com
By Al Scanlan
John Peter Sites, Sr. may have been the most prolific gun maker in Botetourt County. His shop opened in 1808. Census date of 1820 shows that he made 75 rifles that year. But times were changing.
In 1833 Sites resorted to advertising in a Fincastle newspaper, probably The Virginia Patriot (1829–1858) “Guns for sale cheap as times are hard.” While Botetourt County agriculture was stable and there were bright spots in the regional economy, gun making was not seeing the success and prosperity of past years. Gun making and repair work had provided Sites with a good living. But the frontier of 1833 was now much further west. The future in Botetourt County was dim for John while the market west was growing.
Opening the western frontier, fur trading and land speculating represented market opportunity for gun makers. The Sites family of gun makers was no strangers to moving and seeking opportunity. The family immigrated to the United States in 1727, settling in Rockingham County Va., by way of Pennsylvania and Maryland. Henry, John’s father, left Rockingham County and came to Botetourt County in 1790. Peter Sites, John’s uncle, left Rockingham County in 1809 for Ohio. These moves share the common element of seeking opportunity for the gun maker trade.
John’s first wife, Margaret (Peck) Sites, died in 1821. John’s father, Henry Sites, died in 1833. His mother, Mary Dunlap Sites, relocated to Richland County, Ohio, with John’s brother Robert. Mary died there in 1849. The time was right for another move and by 1835, John Sr. and son John Jr. found themselves in Booneville, Missouri. Booneville was the origin of two primary routes west, the Santa Fe Trail (west/southwest) and Oregon Trail (west/northwest). John Sites had, to borrow a modern phrase, positioned himself where the action was!
Photos courtesy of Al Scanlan
Rifles produced by Sites in Botetourt County were similar to most Virginia style rifles – long, slender barrels with full stocks, sturdy tangs and butt stocks and durable hardware. John’s rifles were well suited for the needs of the time and this area. His work was generally not embellished with carving or excessive ornamentation; however, a Virginia style patch box with modest engraving was common. The rifles pictured are typical of Sites’ work. John signed his barrels in script, probably on earlier works, but a block printed “J SITES” also appears on some rifles.
It’s a pretty amazing story for a history buff and one interested in these old rifles. Sites was drawn to the epicenter of the westward movement to make guns for those who took that journey. We need to recognize the drive that propelled his relocation. I have tried to put my mind in alignment with his to understand the man, the family and the firearms he made.
