Historic Smithfield

1000 Plantation Road

Blacksburg, VA  24060

540-231-3947

William Preston was living near the town of Fincastle with his wife, Susanna, and several children in 1754 when he bought three parcels of land, totaling 1,010 acres 60 miles to the southwest in the frontier near present-day Blacksburg. By 1774, he had moved his family to Smithfield. The dwelling was not a typical frontier house. Built in the Tidewater plantation style, it reflected a strong sense of elegance and refinement in its architecture and details. The house was situated on a knoll where it was visually impressive and provided early sightings of visitors, friendly and otherwise. The landscape plan shows an avenue of maple trees marking the approach to the house. Because of Preston’s political connections, Smithfield became a center of social and political activities. He died in 1783 and Susanna continued to run the plantation and raise their 12 children there. She remained at Smithfield for 40 more years, and managed it until her death in 1823. In that era, it was exceptional for a woman to attend to the business of running a large plantation. Under her stewardship, the value of the enterprise more than doubled. Five generations of Prestons lived at Smithfield. Eventually, it was used only as a summer house, and changes were made to both the house and the land. Its use by the family diminished further, and in 1959, Janie Preston Boulware Lamb, great great-granddaughter of William Preston, presented the property to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, which undertook the restoration of the house. It was opened to the public in 1964. The Garden Club of Virginia developed a conjectural landscape suitable to this fine frontier house. It contains a collection of authentic fences plus a demonstration kitchen garden.