The Fall of an Empire

While Abijah was foremost in modernization, the war made times difficult. After hostilities ceased, most of the family’s industries were tattered and destroyed by the invading army, their enslaved people freed, the family faced an uncertain future. Creditors filed lawsuits that reduced the plantation and holdings to a mere several hundred acres. In the midst of what must have been a sad time for the family, Abijah passed away after a short illness on December 1, 1876 here at his beloved home. His wife Priscilla and their ten surviving children were left to face the piecemeal disintegration of their plantation and holdings. Eventually, the original homeplace, including the Octagon House, was sold at auction, forcing Ms. Thomas to live with her adult children until her death in 1885.

Thus began a period of successive ownerships that eventually led to the home becoming an apartment building, an apple storage facility and tobacco barn. Each change brought about decline in what was once the most unusual and fascinating antebellum home in Southwest Virginia. Languishing and decaying for the next sixty years, many visitors from across the nation and Europe have already returned to look at this marvel in the mountains of Virginia seeking family connections, unusual architecture and history, or in search of spiritual connections.