During the 18th century this property was established as a Southall family seat. Notable family members included James Barrett Southall, owner of Williamsburg's Raleigh Tavern, Turner Southall, a member of the committee to build Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Capitol, and historian Douglas Southall Freeman. About 1800, Furneau Southall constructed the original log part of the structure later known as Piney Grove as a corncrib on his 300-acre plantation. Southall's was home to his family and 18 slaves. He was a grandson of family patriarch John Southall and served on the county Committee of Safety with John Tyler and Benjamin Harrison.
