{"nrhp_refnum":"69000280","name":"Preston House","other_names":["Herondon","John Montgomery Preston House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of jct. of Rtes. 645 and U.S. 11","address_restricted":false,"city":"Marion","county":"Smyth County","state":"VA","lat":36.805373892000034,"lon":-81.61796582995382,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The John Montgomery Preston House (also called Herondon) is a two-story brick building on the east bank of the Middle Fork of the Holston River near Marion, Smyth County, Virginia. It was built in 1842 by John Montgomery Preston.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house represents the transition from the Federalist to the Greek Revival style, which occurred in western Virginia as late as the 1840s and 50s. It is also important as the seat of a branch of the Preston family, prominent in southwestern Virginia history, and was once the home of the Preston Collection of manuscripts.","narrative":"Built in 1842 on the east bank of the Middle Fork of the Holston River near Marion, this two-story brick house combines Federalist and Greek Revival features. It has a gable roof, paired interior end chimneys, a five-bay facade, and a central two-level porch with Tuscan columns, transoms and sidelights. A Doric entablature with triglyphs and mutules runs across the front. Inside, four rooms surround a central hall with a single-landing stair. John Montgomery Preston built it as a tavern or stagecoach inn along the Wilderness Road, on land that had passed from General William Campbell to the Preston family; a notorious log tavern had previously occupied the site. The inn served travellers until 1864, when Preston's son converted it to a private residence. That year Union troops under General Stoneman sacked the house and used it as headquarters. It was listed for its architecture, its size relative to other area buildings, and its link to the Preston family and their manuscript collection.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1842)","architect_builder":"John Montgomery Preston (builder/owner)","architectural_style":"Transition from Federalist to Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, occupied and used as a private residence at the time of nomination; the Interstate 81 nearby is said to mar its setting.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.166237-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/74/6836/41683674/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/69000280.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000280/df1de29b25-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000280/df1de29b25-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smyth,_Preston_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smyth,_Preston_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683674","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_House_(Marion,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15268558"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/smyth-county/preston-house-69000280/"}