HISTORY

The Robert Preston House at Walnut Grove was constructed around 1790 and the log cabin on the property even earlier. It is the only remaining structure from the 1700s left in greater Bristol. The Living History Museum is dedicated to the interpretation of the pioneer settlement of southwest Virginia in the 1700 and 1800s.

Colonel Robert Preston (1750-1833) was born in Londonderry, Ireland in 1753. He immigrated to Virginia in 1770 at the age of 23 and apprenticed to become a surveyor under his cousin, Colonel William Preston of Smithfield Plantation, in what is now Montgomery County, Virginia. William Preston was active in politics in colonial Virginia. He was a member of the House of Burgesses and a friend and colleague of Thomas Jefferson. In building his house at Smithfield, William Preston was influenced by the Tidewater architecture of Williamsburg.

As well as learning the surveying profession, it is evident that Robert was also influenced by his cousin in architecture because the detailing found in his house at Walnut Grove is very similar to the detailing found at Smithfield. Robert was also related to Gen. Francis Preston who built the house which is now known as the Martha Washington Inn.

In 1779, Robert Preston moved to what is now Washington County. Soon after his arrival in February of 1780, he surveyed the lots for the new county seat of Washington County, Abingdon, Virginia. He was granted a surveyor’s bond signed by then-Governor Thomas Jefferson.

Later that summer Robert married Margaret Rhea and acquired eight hundred acres of what is now part of Bristol, Virginia. Robert later became one of the first Trustees for the town of Abingdon.

The Preston family to which Robert was related played an important role in western Virginia/eastern Tennessee during colonial, revolutionary war, and civil war eras.

• Robert's cousin Col. William Preston was a surveyor who built Smithfield Plantation. Smithfield is owned by Virginia Polytechnical Institute, which was originally named 'Preston and Olin Institute.'
  
• Robert's second cousin Gen. Francis S. Preston was a member of the Virginia State Senate and a Brigadier General in the War of 1812. Francis built the house now known as the Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon.
  
• Robert's 3rd cousin Col. James Francis Preston was an officer during the Civil War who commanded the Washington Mounted Riflemen based in Abingdon.
  
• Robert's nephew John Montgomery Preston built the buildings now known as Exchange Place in Kingsport, Tennessee.
  

Disclaimer: The museum is in the process of forming and the contents of this website are only intended to provide an idea of what the mature organization may be like. None of the services listed here are available at this time.