Historic house has a fascinating past, but it’s difficult to photograph well
This is the John Preston House, aka the Preston-Crockett House, aka Herondon. Whichever name one chooses, the house remains equally impressive and fascinating — and difficult to photograph well. Sadly, the house and property are endangered and could soon be gone forever.
Fascinating History of the Endangered Preston House
Highlights of the house’s history
- The Preston House was built by John Montgomery Preston in 1842, to serve as a tavern, replacing an older and smaller log tavern that had developed a shady reputation.
- The new tavern was built large and fancy to help remove the stigma of the location as unsafe.
- Former innkeeper was suspected of taking advantage of unwary travelers, even to the point of possibly murdering some of them. As the second paragraph of the detailed history quoted below suggests, the innkeeper’s reputation may have been deserved. 21 bodies were found on the property in a cave in the 1890s.
- Converted to a private residence by 1864 by John Montgomery Preston, Jr., as a home for his new bride.
- Later in 1864, the home was commandeered by a Union officer for use as a temporary headquarters. It was also ransacked by his troops.
- From 1947 – 2002 the house served as the home of author Lucy Herndon Crockett. She was active with the American Red Cross, and in addition to writing letters and speeches, she also wrote several popular books, one of which was made into the Oscar-nominated film, The Proud and the Profane , starring William Holden and Deborah Kerr.
- Lucy Crockett claimed the house was haunted by the ghost of a Union soldier, who carried his severed head under his arm.
- In 2022, it was announced that local authorities had approved the use of the property for construction of a truck stop and retail center, which would most certainly spell the end of this historic house. While no dirt has been turned, the developers say the plans are still underway for construction.
A more detailed history
The following more detailed history has been quoted verbatim from the National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form, dated 1969:
“The house was built in 1842 by John Montgomery Preston on land his wife,
Maria Thornton Carter Preston (died 1842) inherited from her father, General
Francis Preston (1765-1836). The property had come into the possession of this branch of the Preston family through the marriage of General Preston to Sarah Buchanan Campbell, the daughter of General William Campbell (1745-1781), Revolutionary War soldier and hero of the Battle of King’s Mountain.
General Campbell had inherited the property from his father Charles Campbell.
For some years prior to the building of the present house a log tavern had
stood on the site. This hostelry had quite a dubious reputation in the
area as the innkeeper was believed to take advantage of the unwary, even
going to the extreme of robbing and murdering the unprotected. This
tradition was perhaps substantiated in the 1890’s when twenty-one bodies
were discovered in a cave on the property.
Partially to rid the area of this notorious inn and more probably to erect
a finer establishment, John Montgomery Preston built the present house in
1842 “as a tavern or stagecoach inn along the Wilderness Road.” This inn
served travellers for some twenty-two years until 1864 when John Montgomery
Preston, Junior, brought his bride, Mary Preston Lewis Cochran of Albemarle
County, to the property and converted the inn into a private residence.
Preston served as a captain in Company B, Fourtieth Virginia Infantry. His
home was sacked and made the headquarters of General Stoneman’s federal
troops during their raid towards Saltville and Abingdon in 1864.”
A Tough Location for Photography
The location of the house makes it almost impossible to photograph, except from the grassy shoulder of busy Interstate 81. In summer the grass is allowed to grow high, but in winter the fenceline perimeter of the property is more accessible. From any other vantage point, the view of the house is blocked by trees.
Aspenvale Cemetery
The Aspenvale Cemetery holds the final resting places of many of the historic figures associated with the Preston House or the land it sits on. Watch my recent Walking Old Graveyards video from Aspenvale here:
Sources and Links
Bristol Herald Courier. “Preston house now on endangered historic places list.“
Facebook. Save and Restore The Preston-Crockett House.
The Mountain Laurel. “The History of Seven Mile Ford, Virginia.“
Virginia Department of Historic Resources. “Preston House.“
Virginia Department of Historic Resources. “Preston House Nomination Form.” PDF.
Wikipedia. “Preston House (Marion, Virginia).”