The abandoned houses scattered throughout Virginia stand as silent witnesses to the state’s rich and diverse history.
The abandoned houses scattered throughout Virginia stand as silent witnesses to the state’s rich and diverse history. These structures, often found in the verdant landscapes of the Appalachian region or decaying quietly in forgotten rural towns, hold the weight of countless untold stories. Virginia’s abandoned homes, with their dilapidated facades and overgrown gardens, evoke a sense of both melancholy and nostalgia. They serve as poignant reminders of bygone eras, from colonial settlements to Civil War battlegrounds, encapsulating the complexities of Virginia’s past. These forsaken dwellings, whether grand mansions slowly succumbing to nature’s reclamation or modest farmhouses left to the elements, offer a hauntingly beautiful insight into the transitory nature of human endeavor against the backdrop of time.
Allegheny County
McKinney/Robinson House
The McKinney House stands along the Cowpasture River in Allegheny County. The frame house has a two-story, three-bay front entry porch, double-hung sash windows, a hipped standing-seam tin roof, and weatherboard siding with sections of textured shingle siding.
In 1825, the land near McPherson’s Ford was part of a plantation owned by Abraham Ritzer. 2 When the McPherson’s Ford Bridge was constructed in 1897, the McKinney family owned the farm on the north side of the river. The house on the property was built circa 1850 3 by Nathaniel Wesley McKenney, who had immigrated from Cotswold, England. Later, the property passed to Walter and Gladys Robinson.
The property fell into disrepair after Walter’s death in 1990 and Gladys’s in 1997. The United States Forest Service now owns it.
Botetourt County
Cumberland County
Highland County
Felix Hull House
The Felix Hull House was built circa 1855 in the Greek Revival architecture for Felix Hull. 1 During the Civil War, his widow, Eliza Mathews Hull, was living here on May 7-8, 1862, when the house was commandeered for use as headquarters by Union Brig. Gen. Robert H. Milroy and his superior, Brig. Gen. Robert C. Schenck. On May 9, after the Battle of McDowell on Sitlington’s Hill, the victorious Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson made his headquarters here. He pursued the Union army westward, then returned here on May 14 for the night before heading to Staunton.
The last owner of the Felix Hull House passed away a few years ago, and the property has languished ever since.
Other
Lee County
Wise County
Other
Sources
- “Felix Hull House.” The Historical Marker Database, 9 May 2021.
- Casella, Richard M., Alison Helms, and Bruce Harms. “McPherson’s Ford Bridge.” Historic American Engineering Resource, 1994.
- “McKinney House.” Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
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