Description

Spring At Smithfield Plantation

Smithfield is a plantation outside Blacksburg, Virginia built from 1772 to 1774 as a home by Col. William Preston. It was the birthplace of two Virginia Governors: James Patton Preston and John B. Floyd.  The house remained a family home until 1959 when the home was donated to the APVA.

James Patton Preston, Virginia Governor, inherited the plantation from his mother. It was also the birthplace and home of his son, William Ballard Preston, who worked with Abraham Lincoln in the 1840s in Congress as part of a group of legislators known as “The Young Indians” and later, reluctantly, authored Virginia’s Articles of Secession in 1861. Descendants of William and Susanna Preston included four Virginia Governors – James Patton Preston, John Floyd, James McDowell, and John Buchanan Floyd – and numerous other legislators. In addition, descendants were instrumental in the founding and growth of several universities, including Virginia Tech, VMI, and University of South Carolina.

The house itself is L-shaped, with high ceilings and large rooms. The detailing and proportions of the house are unusual for frontier  homes. More unusually, the master bedroom is placed between the parlor and the dining room on the first floor, implying that Preston wanted to impress his guests with his ornate bedroom furniture.

2016

Includes a Certificate of Authenticity. (See FAQs)

Small: $125, Image Size: 6-1/2 x 22-3/8 Inches.

Medium: $325, Image Size: 10-7/16 x 36 inches.