An old brick house beside Interstate 81 in Seven Mile Ford, Virginia holds nearly two centuries of Appalachian history, mystery, and folklore.
From a Wilderness Road tavern and a cave discovery to the unusual life of writer Lucy Crockett, the Preston House carries stories that refuse to disappear.If you drive north on Interstate 81 through Smyth County, Virginia, just before the Seven Mile Ford exit, there’s an old brick house sitting quietly back from the road. Most people pass it without noticing. But for nearly two centuries, that house has carried stories that refuse to disappear.

In this episode of Roots & Shadows: The Real Appalachia, host Kevin Austin explores the history and folklore surrounding the Preston House, sometimes called the Herondon House, one of the most intriguing historic homes in Southwest Virginia.

Long before the interstate existed, this land sat along the Wilderness Road, one of the most important migration routes in early American history. Settlers heading west into Kentucky and Tennessee passed through this valley with wagons, livestock, and everything they owned. Taverns and inns appeared along the road where weary travelers could rest for the night.

According to local tradition, an early log tavern once stood on the very ground where the brick house now sits. Stories passed down around Seven Mile Ford suggest that some travelers who stopped there were never seen again.

In 1892, a discovery nearby only deepened the mystery. A small cave was found containing the remains of twenty-one skeletons, including one described as a woman holding a child. While no one ever proved where the bones came from, the discovery became part of the long folklore surrounding the property.

The brick house that stands there today was built in 1842 by John Montgomery Preston, part of a prominent Virginia family connected through marriage to Revolutionary War hero William Campbell of nearby Aspenvale. For generations the house served as a gathering place for the Preston family and held an extraordinary collection of historic papers, including letters from George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and Patrick Henry. Some of these documents were later preserved by the Library of Congress and the Draper Manuscript Collection.

But the most unusual chapter in the story of the house may belong to the last woman who lived there.

After World War II, the property became home to Lucy Crockett, a writer and illustrator who published nine books between 1939 and 1963. One of her novels, The Magnificent Bastards, was adapted into the 1956 film The Proud and the Profane, starring William Holden and Deborah Kerr.

Lucy called the house Herondon, and over the years she became one of the most memorable figures in the area. Locals remember seeing her drive into town in an old military jeep, often carrying a revolver on her hip.

In the early 1960s she reportedly sent letters to officials in Washington, including FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, claiming she had information about a possible threat to the U.S. government. Family members later recalled that federal agents visited the property in 1963 to investigate the letters.

Today the future of the old house is uncertain. The property was sold in May 2022 with plans for commercial development nearby, and the fate of the historic structure remains unclear.

For now, the old house still stands beside the road near Seven Mile Ford, holding nearly two hundred years of Appalachian history, mystery, and memory.

Because in Appalachia, some places don’t just sit beside the road.

They collect stories.