Soon after the arrival of the couple's son, Charles Manning, in 1851, Borst began construction on a new family home, "Aventine Hall", on a high point on the west end of Luray and within sight of the county court house.
[1] In 1852, Borst began a long career as Commonwealth's Attorney for Page County, maintaining his office in the North wing of the courthouse.
In the proceedings, Borst was quoted as seeing his adopted county as "fully alive to the crisis, and prepared to meet it, come what may.
"[2] Since Peter Borst stood out as a delegate of Virginia's secession convention, his home at "Aventine" would be earmarked as a building of interest by Union soldiers during multiple occupations of Luray during the war.
Additionally, his tannery operations, providing a variety of leather goods in support of the Confederacy, would be burned twice, first on 22 December 1863.
In the midst of dealing with legal matters on Monday, 25 April 1882,[3][4] Borst "suddenly and noiselessly" fell back in his chair, dead of apoplexy.