Establishing a Home

A 1749 Augusta County Deed Book document refers to "Harrison's stonehouse," providing the longstanding basis for dating the original limestone portion of the house to 1749. Dendrochronology studies conducted in 2019 examined oak attic beams and indicated the timbers were felled in the dormant winter period from November 1748 through March 1749, suggesting construction began soon afterward. Pine support timbers under the floorboards of the brick addition indicate that newer section was likely built between 1840 and 1845. By the 1860s, the stone front portion of the house was further altered with larger windows and doors and the addition of door sidelights. In 2018, archaeology students led by Dr. Dennis Blanton of James Madison University uncovered evidence that the front of the house may once have been on the opposite side before the brick addition. The property was owned by the Harrison family until 1821, then by John Allebaugh in 1821, J. N. Liggett in 1856, William and Solomon Burtner in 1862, Solomon Burtner in 1870, the Koogler family in 1917, and Fort Harrison, Inc. in 1978.

Dayton, Virginia · United States