Abingdon Historic District – Abingdon, Virginia

Isaac Kremer/ December 15, 2013/ Physical/ 0 comments

Historic Abingdon, Virginia has enjoyed a rich and vibrant history. Long a center of both commerce and culture, Abingdon traces its modern roots to 1750 when Dr. Thomas Walker, who had been granted over 6,000 acres of land by King George II, explored the area in what is now Southwest Virginia. Land was patented here by Dr. Thomas Walker in 1750. Joseph Black, who purchased some of the land from Dr. Walker, settled on it, and built “Black’s Fort” in 1776. The town of Abingdon was established in 1778 as the county seat of Washington County. A courthouse, built around 1800, was replaced in 1850. In 1862 the church bells were melted for Canon. In December 1864 Stoneman’s Raid partially burned down the town. A new Courthouse was built in 1869.

In 1776, the Assembly of Virginia created Washington County in honor of General George Washington, and designated Black’s Fort as the meeting place for the first county court. Dr. Walker, Joseph Black, and Samuel Briggs donated 120 acres of land to be used to establish a town. In 1778, the Virginia Assembly passed an act to incorporate the new town, naming it Abingdon. The name is thought to be in honor of Martha Washington’s ancestral home of Abingdon Parish in England.

Abingdon became the first English speaking settlement to be incorporated in the watershed of the Mississippi. The first structures were built of logs, bit it was only a few years before frame dwellings with rock foundations were built. Despite several fires that destroyed portions of the town, Abingdon still retains buildings from each decade of its first 100 years.

Abingdon became a major distribution point for mail and supplies on “The Great Road West”. The town also became know for its love of the arts. Concerts, operatic performances, and theater all became an important part of life in early Abingdon. The affinity for the arts survives today, as modern amenities flourish alongside venerable antiquities.

Abingdon in the Civil War

General George Stoneman led 5,700 horse artillerists and cavalrymen to destroy ironworks, leadworks, and saltworks in Virginia. These were essential to the Confederate War effort. He left Knoxville on December 1, 1864, and headed east. Following actions at Kingsport and Bristol, Stoneman struck Marion, Wytheville, and Austinville and then destroyed the saltworks at Saltville. He returned to Tennessee on January 1, 1865, having destroyed every factory, railroad, and warehouse in his path.

Stoneman arrived in Abingdon in the early morning hours of December 15, 1864. His forces destroyed military supplies, tore up railroad tracks, burnt rolling stock, and damanaged the printing press of the Abingdon-Virginian newspaper.

While the main force continued northward, Capt. James B. Wyatt, Company M, 13th Tennessee Cavalry lagged behind Stoneman’s column. A former resident of Abingdon, Wyatt sought revenge from encounters with the county court system as a youth. He apparently continued to hold a grudge against a local judge. Wyatt decided to wreak personal havoc by burning the Washington County courthouse. The fire destroyed the courthouse and numerous county records with it. Burning cinders set two other buildings on fire. Two Confederate calvary riders arrived in town and encountered Wyatt. A chance began ending on Church Street where Wyatt’s horse fell, killing him.

The Crooked Road

Virgina’s Heritage Music Trail connects the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Coalfields of southwest Virginia. Contemporary music venues, musicians, and fretted instrument makers line the trail. While historically isolated, the region retains its strong musical legacy by passing on traditions through musical families. Old time mountain music, bluegrass, and gospel can be enjoyed all year long and several museums showcase the rich musical heritage of The Crooked Road. Venues preserve and celebrate musical traditions passed down through generations with mountain music, country music, and bluegrass. Annual festivals, weekly concerts, radio shows, and jam sessions are just some of the regular performances and events.

Walking Tour of Historic District

Old Abingdon Association posted simple white markers with black hand written text in a historic font. All names of people and buildings are in all caps. The numbers from 1-40 below are from “A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Abingdon’s Downtown Historic District, Abingdon, Virginia.” Finally, we added a few additional buildings with comments of our own. These are the buildings without numbers 1-40, and are listed in order by address as they appear between other buildings.

260 W. Main St. For nearly 20 years the Bone Fire Smokehouse was a barbeque and southern cuisine destination, also featuring live music. A Washington County Clear Virginia Beautification Award winner. The restaurant closed in 2024.

1. 208 W. Main St. – Fields-Penn 1860 House Museum. Abingdon in the early 1830s was a genteel community of women and men, the descendants of those who first explored, settled, and made their fortunes in the Virginia wilderness. Their prosperity continued until the outbreak of the War Between the States and homes like the Fields-Penn House (1858) are typical of the pre-war era. James Fields, a building contractor who also operated a brick kiln and factory, built the house in 1858. The house is an attractive blend of Greek revival details, such as the horizontal lintels above the windows and the side-and-transom light doorway, and the 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 recently done extensive renovations and opened the house as the town’s Visitors Center.

2. 150 W. Main St. – General Francis Preston House/Martha Washington Inn. In 1832, the original and center portion of the complex that now houses the Martha Washington Inn was built as a private residence for General Francis Preston and his wife. The McCabe Lodge No. 56, Independent Order of Odd Fellows decided in 1853 to establish a women’s college named after Martha Washington. The Holston Conference of the Methodist Church assumed control of the project by 1858. That same year the conference purchased the Gen. Francis Preston House for $21,000, to house the college. In 1860 the first classes were held at Martha Washington College. During the Civil War the college served as a hospital. Several additions were made to the college’s main building over the next 70 years. The school merged with the nearby Emory & Henry College in 1918. In 1921 Martha Washington became a junior college and closed in 1931. In 1935, the former main college building was converted into the Martha Washington Inn. Throughout the years, and a succession of owners, it has evolved into the lovely and gracious Inn you see today.

3. Barter Stage II. Formerly known as The Barter Playhouse, this building was built in 1831 as a Methodist Protestant Church which had separated from the Methodist Episcopal Church.

4. 102 E. Main St. – The John Barr House. This three-story house was built in 1871. In the early 1800s, Michael Shaver, Abingdon’s only silversmith, had his residence, a tavern, and a blacksmith shop on this land. They were destroyed in the 1856 fire.

108 E. Main St. Similar in construction to 112 E. Main St. below. The most notable difference is the porch with railing across the front. This clearly is a replacement porch for one that was here earlier. Also the front portion of the house is not quite so deep with the section behind the front slightly set back.

112 E. Main St. This brick building has an elaborate covered entry porch with gingerbread and spindle work. The ghost marks remain of a porch that once spanned the entire front of the building between the first and second floors. Segmental windows have one-over one sash. A bracketed cornice on all four sides of the building is continued above the cornice in a roof with intersecting gables. This interesting configuration makes the attic level on the third floor more functional by increasing headspace.

5. 116 E. Main St. – The Judge John A. Campbell House. Built in 1847. After Judge Campbell’s death, his wife continued to live in the house and took in boarders, one of whom was Elliott Roosevelt, father of Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States from 1933-1945.

6. 124 E. Main St. – St. Thomas Episcopal Church. Built in 1925.

7. 136 E. Main St. – Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church. Two versions of the Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church were built in the 1770s on the site of the present-day Sinking Spring Cemetery. The third building was where Barter Theatre is today. The fourth and current building was built with semi-circular pews in a raked design–and was dedicated in 1851. The intricately carved “12 Apostles’ Doors” were designed and carved by Dr. Richard Taylor, a minister at the church in the 1960s and 1970s.

The church established the Stonewall Jackson Female Institute in 1868 for the education of young women. The Floyd family property was purchased in Feb. 1868 to house the school. Classes began on September 15, 1868, when boarding and day students as young as seven enrolled. It was renamed the Stonewall Jackson College in 1914 when the Montgomery Presbytery assumed joint ownership. On November 24, 1914, the main buildings were destroyed by fire. The college continued to operate until 1930 when it closed because of mounting debts.

8. 142 E. Main St. – The Andrew Gibson House. The front portion of this brick house was built in 1836 by Andrew Gibson and consisted of two rooms on each floor, a central hall with staircase, and a basement. It is an interesting house from the standpoint of its being part of the popular Abingdon trend at that time for Italianate features like its bracketed cornice. Gibson died while serving as Mayor of Abingdon. John Kreger bought the house during the Civil War and added the additions to the rear in 1875. Mr. Kreger was clerk of the court in Abingdon during the Civil War and is credited with removing valuable records to a hiding place out of town where they were safe from General Stoneman’s advancing army. Recently the house has been owned by Charles and June Fox, Larry and Janet Runyon, Kyle and Beatriz Macione. The current owners are Rebecca Brown, Lori Pernell and Tony Breland.

9. 180-182 E. Main St. – The Greenway Brother’s Building. Built in 1878 by James C. Greenway, David Greenway and Thomas Trigg, operating under the firm name “Greenway Brothers & Co.” The initials on the uppermost window stand for the firm’s name. This three-story brick building was designed with two separate storefronts and has arched windows on the upper floors. The sheet metal decoration over the windows is especially pronounced above the 182 E. Main storefront. At the roofline are corbelled brick and sheet metal corners.

10. 200 E. Main St. – Henry S. Preston Building. This lot has long been a prime commercial location. Before the Civil War the lot was occupied by a brick house which was used by a number of shopkeepers. Henry Preston had the present three-story brick building built in 1871. A store was located on the first floor and Waterman’s Lodge #219 on the third floor. In 1881 the Bank of Abingdon acquired the property and was located here for some years. From that time the property changed hands several times and was used for various purposes, including a restaurant, a candy company, and Little Dukes Cigar Factory. It was renovated as law offices in 1975.

11. 206 E. Main St. – Abingdon House. This three-story brick townhouse was built in 1872 as a home for Dr. Robert Preston who owned the home for thirty years. The building is known as “Abingdon House” and is used as a residence with offices on the first floor.

12. 206 E. Main St. – Dunn’s Hotel/The Virginia House. John Dunn built this brick building with its stepped gables in 1846. Known as Dunn’s Hotel, the building was designed to be both a store and hotel. John Dunn and Sons did business in the store selling hats, bonnets, yard goods, boots, groceries, and paints. The western part of the building was the hotel and served as a center for many activities during the mid 19th century. During the Civil War it was used as a Court House and hospital. Renamed “The Virginia House”, the ballroom was used as a “Dancing and Waltzing Academy”. The dining room had good patronage and, in the bar room, games of billiards and bagatelle were played. A multi-seat carriage conveyed passengers from the railroad depot to the hotel. The building is now used as law offices.

13. 222 E. Main St. – The Tavern. Considered the oldest building in Abingdon, the Tavern was built around 1779 and used from its beginning as a tavern and overnight inn for stage coach travelers. It has played host to such guests as Henry Clay and President Andrew Jackson. Abingdon’s first post office was located in the addition on the east side of the Tavern. This was also the first Post Office west of the Blue Ridge. The original mail slot can still be seen from the street. Served as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the Civil War. During the past two centuries, the Tavern has served as a tavern, bank, bakery, general store, cabinet shop, barber shop, private residence, post office, antique shop, and restaurant.

14. 228-230 E. Main St. – The Washington House / Thomas Findlay’s Hotel. 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, and a boarding house above. 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.

250 E. Main St. This foursquare house with hipped dormers has been converted for use as a funeral home. A side gable one-story addition has a brick front with round arched windows, a gabled wall dormer over the entrance, and a circular window set in the dormer.

266 E. Main St. Two-story building with a symmetrical facade and a central entrance flanked by windows on both sides.

15. 268 E. Main St. – Ludowick C. Price/E.L. Davenport House. The western portion of this house is a log cabin built in 1825 by the heirs of Patrick Lynch. The eastern addition was built in 1835 by Ludowick Price, an early merchant.

283 E. Main St. This building is home to “Rain Restaurant.” The architectural language is consistent with other buildings in Abingdon, though the building itself may be contemporary by construction.

16. 281 E. Main St. – James Longley/James K. Gibson House. This house was originally two houses. The one on the west was built in 1790 and the one on the east in 1791. By 1798, James Longley acquired both houses and joined them sometime before selling the property in 1817 to James K. Gibson.

17. 279 E. Main St. – Adam Hickman House/The Cave House. This house was built in 1857 by Abingdon entrepreneur Adam Hickman. Mr. Hickman was in the tannery business. Behind the house are caves from which wolves came to attack Daniel Boone’s dogs in 1760. Daniel Boone gave the area the name of “Wolf Hill”, which was later changed to “Black’s Fort”, and finally, “Abingdon”.

The “Boone Trail Highway” marker depicts Daniel Boone with his rifle, a hat for protection, and his dog.

18. 247 E. Main St Dr. William H. Pitts House. This stucco-covered house, unusual for Abingdon, was built by Adam Hickman in 1854. Dr. Pitts bought the property in 1859 and practiced medicine in Abingdon through the Civil War. This Greek Revival style dwelling is two-story and five-bay with stuccoed masonry. The house sits on a limestone foundation and has a gable roof with stepped-gable parapet walls flanking paired chimney on each end. The recessed entrance features a double-leaf wood entrance door surrounded by transom and sidelights.

19. 225 E. Main St. – The Bank/Preston House. This building was constructed in 1858 for the Exchange Bank of Virginia. Rooms on the left side of the first floor reserved for banking operations were secured with iron window bars, a separate entrance and a vault. The rest of the house served as the banker’s private quarters and for entertaining numerous guests of the bank. The Bank is a National Historic Landmark.

20. 108 Court St. NE – The William King House. An extraordinarily wealthy merchant and salt manufacturer who had come from Ireland, William King constructed this residence which he called “Grace Hill” in 1803. It was the first brick house in Abingdon. King was one of the founders of the Abingdon Male Academy.

21. The Summers Law Office. Begun in 1872 as the Johnston & Trigg law offices. In 1918 it was deeded to Lewis P. Summers, lawyer and historian. His son Andrew, who collected material to preserve the musical heritage of the area, inherited the building in 1943 and in 1969 the Summers heirs gave “The Office” to the Historical Society of Washington County , and is now owned by the Town of Abingdon.

22. The Washington County Courthouse. This is the fifth building to serve as a courthouse. A courthouse on this site was burnt in December 1864 as an aftermath of General Stoneman’s raid. The present courthouse was constructed and occupied in 1869 and was the only courthouse built in Virginia during Reconstruction. It features four Greek Doric columns and an Italianate cornice and tower. The stained glass was designed by the Tiffany Studio and added as a memorial to those who served during WWI and unveiled on July 4, 1919. The new addition to the courthouse has brick murals of the Revolutionary War, the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf Wars. Behind the courthouse was an area known as the “jockey lot.” Here, on the first Saturday of the month when the court was in session, horse traders and merchants would gather to engage in business and sports. Women and children did not attend this raucous event. Adjacent to the courthouse is the Civil War monument which was moved from the center of Main Street during the 1950s.

23. 171 E. Main St. – Col. James White House. Wealthy merchant Colonel James White had this Federal-style house built in 1819 and added the store/office building to the east in 1828.. It was partially burned in December 1864 during the Civil War and later restored by Col. White’s son after the war in 1866, who added the Italianate brackets under the roof eaves, an architectural feature seen on several Main Street homes. Attached to the main house is a brick structure consisting of several rooms originally used as servants’ working and living quarters. The house was the boyhood home of Rev. Robert Sheffey, “The Saint of the Wilderness.” He was a legendary circuit-riding frontier preacher who gave up wealth and social position to spread the word of God.

Many original furnishings remain in the home. Emmitt Yeary is the current owner.

24. 165-167 E. Main St. – The Andrew Russell House. The western part of this house was built in 1792 by Andrew Russell, who was Clerk of the Circuit Court of Washington County for 50 years (1791-1841). The east wing was added in 1876 by Samuel Honaker. During the Civil War, the house was used as a Confederate officers’ headquarters.

25. 15 E. Main Street – General Francis Preston’s Law Office. Built in 1815, the front portion of the house is the law office with the original logs underneath the siding. General Francis Preston had his law office here from 1815-1838 and John B. Floyd from 1830-1863.

26. 133 E. Main St. – The Rohr House/Marcella. This brick townhouse, built in 1845 by the Rev. Phillip Rohr as a residence. It was used through the years as a millinery shop, a physician’s office, and the Town Library. In 1925 it was purchased and restored as a home by David and Marcella Burke.

27. 129 E. Main Street – The Valentine Baugh House. The western part of this house is a log building built in 1798. An addition to the log house and wood siding were added in 1807. Miss Minnie Baugh, granddaughter of Valentine, built an apothecary shop adjacent to the west side of the house in 1891, and practiced as a druggist for several years.

28. 115 E. Main Street – The Samuel A. Preston House. Built in 1857.

29. 101 E. Main St. – The Abingdon Methodist Church. Built in 1883.

107 W. Main St. This fairly simple red brick three-bay side-gabled building. A porte cochere on the side serves as a slightly more elaborate carport. Chimneys with corbelled chimney cap are on either end of the gable. Finally, eight-over-eight double-hung sash are in the bays to the side of the main entrance door, while a six-over-six double-hung sash is on the second floor above the entrance. The entry door has fanlight, sidelights, and a pilaster and arch with keystone enframing the entrance door.

30. 111 W. Main St. – Thomas P. Hoofnagle House. Built in 1851. This five-bay two-story red brick building is side gabled with chimneys on either end. A porch with heavy posts is over the main entrance that can be accessed by flights of stairs approaching from opposite sides parallel to the street. Today this serves as apartments in the heart of the historic downtown.

31. 123 W. Main Street – William Rodefer House. Rodefer, a respected carpenter and joiner, began building his Federal-style house in 1856-57. Construction was interrupted by the Civil War, which Rodefer served in as a Confederate officer. He fell on hard times after the war, however, and declared bankruptcy in the early 1870s. Rodefer also built other houses in Abingdon, including the Philip Rohr house. That house caught the eye of Bristol, Tennessee, founder Joseph R. Anderson, who recruited Rodefer and James Fields to construct the first house in his new town.

32. 127 W. Main Street – The Barter Theatre. Built around 1832 as a church for the Sinking Spring Presbyterian congregation. When the church moved, the building was acquired by the Sons of Temperance. It was used for lectures, grange meetings, theatrical productions and in 1855 a male school met in the basement. After the Temperance group ceased to function, their trustees gave the building to the Town of Abingdon. It is among the oldest theaters in America. The first performance was held here in 1876.

In 1905 the current front portion of the building was added. The main floor was referred to as the “Opera House” with the Town Hall upstairs, the jail in the basement and the fire department in the rear.

It was to the Opera House that Robert Porterfield brought a group of out-of-work actors in 1933, with theatre tickets being exchanged for produce, livestock, or other goods brought in by local people. This barter system gave the theatre its name. In 1946, the Barter Theatre was designated the State Theatre of Virginia.

33. 159 W. Main Street – John B. Hamilton House. Built in 1874, and the Letty Floyd Johnston House, 153-151 West Main Street, built in 1879.

231 W. Main Street. This building houses “The Peppermill” restaurant in a converted house. Given the ample size of the lot, a porch spans the front of the house and is set on brick foundations with paired bracketed columns

34. 314 Depot Square – The Arts Depot. Built in 1870 by the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, the Arts Depot is an art gallery featuring the work of local and regional artists as well as working artists’ studios.

35. Alexander Breckenridge Cabin. Located behind the Washington County Public Library. The cabin was built in 1769 and was moved to its present location by the Washington County Preservation Foundation.

36. Russell Road – Parson Cummings’ Cabin. Log house built circa 1773 by Rev. Charles Cummings, the most influential leader of Presbyterianism in 18th century Southwest Virginia. Relocated on the original site of the Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church at Sinking Spring Cemetery. The old cemetery is the resting place of men who fouth in the American Revolution, an unknown number of Confederal soldiers from the Civil War, and three governors of Virginia.

37. 415 Academy Drive – The William King Museum. A historic landmark, site of one of the first schools in the region. The William King Museum is an Affiliate of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and offers a year-round schedule of classes, changing exhibits, museum-standard galleries, artists’ studios, and a museum store.

38. 700 Colonial Road – Retirement & Mustering Ground. Built by Captain Robert Craig, circa 1813. The eastern portion of the house was added in 1858 by Judge Samuel V. Fulkerson. Militia from Washington County assembled in the meadow beside “Retirement” when they began their march on the British at King’s Mountain in South Carolina. A hundred years later, in 1864, Union soldiers under the command of General George Stoneman camped in the same meadow.

39. Green Spring Road – The Virginia Creeper Trail. A Native American path, a railway, and now a National Recreation Trail. The Virginia Creeper is a 34-mile multi-purpose trail designed for hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, and horse-back riding. The Virginia Creeper Trail traces the Applachian Trail – a 2,175 mile footpath following the crest of the Appalachian Mountains from Maine to Georgia, passing through 14 states and some of the most remote scenic and culturally significant areas in the eastern U.S.

40. 692 White’s Mill Road – White’s Mill. Originally built as Moffett’s Mill in 1790, White’s Mill was purchased by Col. James White in 1838 and was restored in 1866. It is one of the oldest water powered grist mills in Southwest Virginia. The mill is a Virginia Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

131 Lee Highway. Built in the late 19th Century and 1906, this Italianate and Colonial Revival-style building features a red brick exterior, with the older section featuring a bracketed cornice and front gabled parapet, six-over-six double-hung windows with decorative hoods and arched upper sash, and a first floor bay filled with arched two-over-two double-hung windows, and front entrance door with an arched transom. The 1906 addition consists of a five-bay house with a red brick exterior, side-gable roof, nine-over-nine double-hung windows, a front door with sidelights, a transom, and a decorative trim surround. The building is a contributing structure in the Abingdon Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Abingdon Farmers’ Market

The Abingdon Farmers’ Market at 100 Remsburg Drive serves as both a focal point for local foods and farmers in the region, and also for the rich musical traditions of The Crooked Valley. Free concerts are held on Thursday nights during peak season. The market was dedicated on September 21, 2007, as a central location for the community of Abingdon and environs to come together to build community spirit and pride, and to provide a venue for wholesome family entertainment. Financing for the project came from the Town of Abingdon, the Virginia Tobacco Commission, and the County of Washington.

Clear signage and an information table welcome people in.

When we were visiting in December, clearly most of the vendors were in their off season. This did not prevent a smattering of bakers, a winery, and other vendors to come out.

Abingdon Local Transit

Not many towns with a population less than 10,000 people have their own transit system. The “Abingdon Local Transit” or ALT has a route that covers up and down Main Street and the area between the two highway interchanges at either end of Abingdon.

The transit operates on Saturdays from 10am to 8pm on two routes. Temporary signs are placed at different stops where people can hop on and off.