,; y < !' Form 10-3G0 S T A T E :

U N I T E D STATES D E P A R T M E N T OF T H E INTERIOR (Dec. 1968) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

C O U N T Y :

&,'::iNAL : C E G I S T E R O F H I S T O R I C P L A C E S I S V Z S T O X Y - S S M I N A T I O N F O R M FOR NPS USE ONLY

1 ? - :stor. :.suse ., -

; A N > i R H , a ; a i C :

; i.3 i,.,.:;t;;omery Preston House-... ~-j ? . iZi,.. . O N

! * ' ~ - . L TAP.. * U M B E R : E bank of Middle Fork Holston River, E s i d e of Rt. 645, .L .

:I,v.q~ al l cntrzes - complete applicable sections)

,....,.;. S ;? i n t e r s e c t i o n of R t . 645 and R t . 11. C , 1 Y is T o i i h :

E N T R Y N U M B E R D A T E

- ~~. .. , . I r n n F I C O U N T I : CODE

' COMNaN

----45 Smyth

Y. CATEGORY ( C h r . ~ *one)

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I ACCESSIBLE 1 T O T H E P U B L I C

O e c ~ p i e d E l ~ e s : i d Dl Raatrict*d

OWNERSHIP

P R L S E h T US. !Check One or Mors ss ApproprisloJ

Agricuiturol 7 Government 3 P a r k T r a n s p o r t a t i o n Comments U Commercial I n d u s t r i a l :7 P r i v a t e R e s i d e n c e Olher (spacify) [7

i Educational i; Mili tary K e l B i o u s I -l Enterioinmeni -1 Museum S c i e n t i f i c

' \Ei? OF PROPERTY -... I < : . ,<S N A M E ;

1 ; s LUCYHerndon Crocket t S T R E E T A N D N U M O E R :

-Both 1 i n C o d 6

l~nythCounty Court House, C l e r k ' s Off icekEETA N D N U M B E R

H i s t o r i c AmerLcan Buildings Survey Inventory Fod.r.1 State County Locoi mz

2 z < $ um :

IjWashing ton

Public 0 Private rn

Ppe,.,y.tion 1 Unms'rictod in progress EI~N~:

Public Acquisition:

I " P ~ O C . S S n

n 0

Court Square C ~ T Yon T O W N

Marion Virg in ia

S T A T E C O D E

The John Montgomery Preston House i s a b r i c k , two-story s t r u c t u r e wi th gable roof and twin i n t e r i o r end chimneys a t both ends. The c e n t r a l en t rance t o tl f ive-bay facade has a porch wi th a n unshel te red second l e v e l and access from the second s t o r y . These two c l o s e l y matched doorways have a transom and s i d e l i g h t s , framed and d iv ided by s lender Tuscan columns with an e n t a b l a t u r e and Greek Revival block composition above. Accenting the e n t i r e facade a r e the p l a s t e r r ec t anau la r i n s e t s between s t o r i e s and the f i n e Doric en tablacur , complete with t r i g l y p h s , metapes and mutules. Each window i n the f i r e t f l o o r has nine-over-nine sash with s ix-over-nine sa sh on the second f l o o r . The f r o n t facade brickwork i s a veneer wi th no v i s i b l e bond while the s i d e s and r e a r a r e b u i l t with American bond. The two-story b r i c k r e a r e l l appears t o be ,contemporary with t h e main block but i s sma l l e r i n proport ion. This r e a r s e c t i o n was recent ly- connected t o t h e main house.

C O N D I T I O N

The four rooms i n r;:? v ~ i nblock surround a c e n t r a l h a l l with a s imple, s ing le - l and ing s t a i r . F i r s t f l o o r mantels c o n s i s t of two columns on e i t h e r s i d e of the opecing suppor t ing a p l a i n e n t a b l a t u r e above. Door and window framings use t h e s tandard Greek Revival corner block-and-f lut ing moldings.

(Check One)

Excei ienr a Good Foir Deteriorotod 0 Ruins Unsxposedo--: ( C h e c k One)i l K T E G R I T Y !

(Check One)

i n i t ~ e d Unaltered @ Moved 0 Originoi Si te W I D i s C n i i l E T H E PRESENT ~ N DO R I C ~ N I L (((known) PHv'sicni A P P E A R A N C E

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0. SIGNIFICANCE

1 psn loo ~ c , , ~ c kone or m r a es Appropriere)

i Pre-Columbian 0 16th Century l a th Century . Zoth Century 0 1Sth Century 0 17th Century 0 19th Century a1 s ? ~ c t F ! cD A T E ~ S , ( J f . 4 ~ d ; ~ ~ b ; eandKnown)

( n n c a s O F S I C N ~ F I C ~ ~ C E(Check One or More a s Appropriste) , ~ ., , , ,. . id . .' '.

ucmt,on ,D.:' :, Pdliticai.ll.''.a.' .'

I Aboriginal ~ ~ L k i ~ l . n n i n g, ;.."n"'I Prehis!oric U , Engineering Rsiigion/Phi. Other (spaci ly)

I' . , ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~a ~ ~ d ~ ~ ~ i ;I ' :: . :. ,4 ' lo ,ophy I : : . . History

Agricvifvre i? Invention 0 Science

Ar f m Landscape ScuIpturo

Commcrcc 0 Architocfurs 0 Sociol/Hurnan-

Communications a Lireroture C itorion

C o n s c ~ v o ~ i o n 0 Mditory 0 Theater 0 Music 0 Tr.nrportation rn

l s r a r i M r N r O F S I G N I F I C A N C E [rn~ludeP e c o ~ n a g e ~ .Dates . Events, Etc . )

Thc housz was b u i l t i n 1842 by John Montgomery Preston on land h i s wife, Maria Thornton C a r t e r Pres ton (died 1842) inhe r i t ed from h e r f a t h e r , General Francis ? re s ton (1765-1836). The property had come i n t o the possession of branch of t h e Pres ton family through the marriage of General Preston t o Sarah Buchanan Campbell, the daughter of General William Campbell (1745-17811, ; .~volu t ionary War s o l d i e r and hero of t h e B a t t l e of King's Mountain.

Gf i l e ra l Campbell had i n h e r i t e d the proper ty from h i s f a t h e r Charles Campbell.

l a r t i a l i y t o r i d the a r e a of t h i s notor ious inn and more probably t o e r e c t a f i n e r es tab l i shment , John Montgomery Preston b u i l t the p resen t house i n 1842 "as a t ave rn o r stagecoach inn along the Wilderness Road." This inn served t r ave l l . e r s f o r some twenty-two years u n t i l 1864 when John Montgomery Preston, Jun io r , brought h i s b r ide , Mary Preston Lewis Cochran of Albemarle County, t o the proper ty and converted the inn i n t o a p r i v a t e res idence . Preston served a s a c a p t a i n i n Company B , Four t i e th Vi rg in i a In fan t ry . . H i s home was sacked and made the headquarters of General Stoneman's f ede ra l

It roops dur ing t h e i r r a i d towards S a l t v i l l e and Abingdon i n 1864.

m--0-i-

t h i s

I ' W . -.

! P G - some yea r s p r i o r t o the bui ld ing of t h e present house a log tavern had w ' s i ood on the s i t e . This h o s t e l r y had q u i t e a dubious r e p u t a t i o n i n t h e

The house is not only important a r c h i t e c t u r a l l y but a l s o a s the s e a t of one c ; the branches of the Preston family which played such ,an important r o l e /;;I rhe h i s t o r y of t h e whole southwestern p a r t of Virg in ia . The well-known

iPreston Co l l ec t ion of e igh teen th and n ine teen th century manuscripts , the .buik of which a r e now i n t h e Library of Congress o r i n the Draper Co l l ec t ion iof the Wisconsin H i s t o r i c a l Socie ty , was once housed i n the Preston House. I

The John Xontgomery Pres ton House represents"the t r a n s i t i o n from the F e d e r a l i s t t o t h e Greek Revival s t y l e , a change t h a t occurred i n western Vi rg in i a a s l a t e a s the 1840's and 50 's . This 1842 s t r u c t u r e takes a d v ~ n t a g fof t h e f e a t u r e s o f both s tyle 's i n a form which is more impressive because of i t s s i z e than most s t r u c t u r e s of any period i n t h i s a r e a . I ts b e z u t i f u l l oca t ion on the Middle Fork of the Holston River i n the h i l l s wcs: of >farion has been marred by t h e presence of I n t e r s t a t e 81 a few

h i n c r e d ;*et to the nor th .

Y) a r e a a s the innkeeper was be l ieved t o take advantage of t h e unwary, even goiag t o the extreme of robbing and murdering the unprotected. This

, t r a d i t i o n was perhaps s u b s t a n t i a t e d i n the 1890's when twenty-one bodies /were discovered i n a cave on the proper ty .i

.

9. MAJOX BiBLlOGRAPHlCAL REFERENCES I

H i s t o r i c a l and Geographical Encyclopedia - Specia l Virg in ia Edition (New York, 1884), p . 427.

Sumers , Lewis Preston, His tory of Southwest V i rg in i a , 1746-1786, Washington

County, 1777-1870. Wilson, Goodridge, Smyth County History and Trad i t ions (1932),

pp. 364-373. Wilson, L. A . , ed. , The Pres ton Genealogy ( S a l t Lake C i ty , 1900), pp . 192-193 I

i O . GEOGRAPHICAL DATA

'4-1 UI

) C O R N E R L A T I T U D E L O N G I T U D E L A T I T U D E L O N G I T U D E

Degrees Minuter Seconds Deorssr h4inuteS socondr Dagrsol Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds " i d . 34- 81 3 7 . 3 0 - 0 0

N E 136 48' 3 4 81. ! SE I36 48' 02" 81 ;O ' 1 sw 1 3 6 Q 48' 02'

1 8 1 " 3 7 ' 3 0 ' 1

1 ,

L I S T A L L 5 7 A T E S AND C O U N T I E S F O R P R O P E R T I E S 0 ; E R L A P P I N C S T A T E O R C O U N T Y B O U N D A R I E S

i S T A T C T C O D E C O U N T Y C O D E

S T A T E C O D E C O U N T Y C O D E--$ T A T - -C O D E C O U N T Y C O D E-S J A T t C O D E C O U N T Y C O D E-

Tl. FCi7h: ? i l P A R ; ^ . B Y N I I M E A N D T I T L E

-S ~ D A T EOHCALIIAIION

Ihirgir . ia H i s t o r i c Landmarks Commission ( ~ u g u s t12. 1969 (~TREEJA h D NUMBER:

I A s thc dcslgnated State Liaison Officer for the Na- I herebv certify that th i s property is included in the

tion.,l i i istoric Preservation Acr of 1966 (Publ ic Law . , ,Nationa 1 Register.

89-645) . I hereby nominate th i s property for inclusion

forth i ly ihe National Park Service. The recommended Chief , Off ice of Archeology end Hisloric Preservation

level ai s i r n i f i c a n c e of this nom~na t ionis: '! II Name / / ._ ': . IATTEST: . . . . . .

D r . Edward P. Alexander, chairmad! T ~ ~ I ~Virg in ia H i s t o r i c Landmarks commi$sion

Keeper of The N a t i m e l Regis ter .< .. . . , , , . ., . > ?. . . , , , ..,, , A ,

Date Date L

L A T I T U D E A N D L O N G I T U D E C O O R D I N A T E SL l t T l T U D E A N D L O N G I T U D E C O O R D I N A T E S DEF,NbNG T H S C E N T E R P O I N T O F A P R O P E R T Y

==- T~~~ :..-,.,.---- A P ~ C ..- .. DEFlN lNC A R E C T A N G L E L O C I T l N G THE P R O P E R T Y - -- = ,. . ? m w r.

F o r m 13-300. U N I T E D STATES D E P A R T M E N T O F T H E I N T E R I O R (cot. isaa) N A T I O N A L P A R K SERVICE

N A T I O N A L R E G I S T E R O F H I S T O R I C P L A C E S

INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

(Continuation Sheefi

(Number a l l enti lee)

6. Virgin ia : i i s to r i c Landmarks Commission Report #86-3 1968 S t a t e Virg in ia H i s t o r i c Landmarks Commission Aoom 1116, Ninth S t r e e t S t a t e Off ice Building Xichmond, V i rg in i a Code: 45