Explore the Stories That Shaped Southwest Virginia

“Retirement” was constructed by Capt. Robert Craig around 1808 near the Muster Grounds where the Virginians mustered to march to the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. Originally the structure was built around a hall-and-parlor layout; then in 1857 Col. Samuel Vance Fulkerson purchased the property and added the two-story addition and gave it a more Federal-style appearance. It passed to the Hurt family who added the Classical Revival front porch. Paul and Rose Dunn lived in the house from 1955 to 2007. The town of Abingdon purchased the property to preserve the site as a fundamental piece of Abingdon’s and Virginia’s history.

James Fields, a building contractor who also operated a brick kiln and factory, built the house in 1858. The house has an attractive blend of Greek revival details, such as the horizontal lintels above the windows and the side-and-transom light doorway, and Italianate features, such as the shallow-hipped roof and the deeply bracketed cornice. A second owner was George E. Penn, who came to Abingdon from Danville as a tobacco merchant but later became a lawyer. The Town of Abingdon has done extensive renovations and opened the house as the town’s Visitor Center.

The Martha Washington Inn & Spa has an illustrious history. Preston Hall was originally built in 1832 by General Francis Preston. The original home consisted of two stories over an English basement and was the grandest house in western Virginia when it was built. From the 1850s to 1932 it was an upscale girls’ school, Martha Washington College, affiliated with the Methodist Church. Falling into neglect and disrepair, it became a hotel and has gone through extensive renovations over the years. Guided tours of many lavishly furnished public and private rooms and exterior features of the Inn will be every 30 minutes, beginning at 10:30 am.

The Andrew Gibson House, built in 1836, consisted of two rooms on each floor, a central hall with staircase, and a basement. After Gibson ‘s death in 1863, it was sold to John Kreger who added the additions to the rear in 1875. Kreger was the clerk of the court during the Civil War and is credited with having had the foresight to take the court records to a safe hiding place. In recent years the house has been an antiques shop, a realty company, and an Airbnb. The carriage house was renovated in the 2020s by Lori and Tony Breland. It is now presently owned by Shaun and Lindsay Lundy.

A house was built on this lot in the early 1800s, and Gen. Francis Preston and family lived there, beginning in 1815 while their brick home (now the Martha Washington Inn & Spa) was being completed. His law office was next door. Preston descendants lived in the house until 1892 when Cyrene Boice, a merchant and lumber dealer, bought the property and completed the current frame home. Dr. John Barrow bought the house in the early 20th century and used the house next door as his medical office. Tedd and Phoebe Blevins as well as Klell and Helen Napps lived in the house until Donna Corneal purchased it for “The Gathering Inn.”

During the 1780s, this lot housed a dwelling, a log tavern, and then an ordinary, run by Fincastle Sterrett, an emancipated slave once owned by William King. The Washington House, Abingdon’s first hotel, was built in 1835 by Thomas Findlay, serving stagecoach and other business travelers, as well as housing professional offices. During the early 20th century, a meat market and a hat shop were located on the first level. It is currently owned by Byrum Geisler, who fully restored and renovated it to include his residence on the upper floors and two businesses on the ground level.

Have you ever fantasized about--or feared--having to spend time in a jail cell? Wallberg Construction has just completed restoration of the old Washington County Jail into modern short and long-term rentals, appropriately called The Klink. The first two floors, where the actual jail cells were, have eight units of one-bedroom plus bunk space. Where the administrative offices of the sheriff’s department were, and a newly constructed third floor, have 10 units which are one and two- bedroom rentals.

This brick house adjacent to the entrance to the Virginia Creeper Trail, was built around 1900, at the time when the Virginia Creeper Railroad was at the height of its economic importance. It was probably a store where riders on the railroad could purchase supplies. In the next decades it was possibly a gas station. In the 1930s it was bought by the DeBusk family. Recently it was purchased and renovated by Donna and Joe LeVine for use as their guest house.