Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 04/20/1994
NRHP Listing Date 07/28/1994
NRHP Reference Number 94000761
This picturesque amalgamation of vernacular forms chronicles building customs in the farming community of northwestern Rockbridge County. Located one mile east of the Brownsburg Historic District, the core is a simple single-cell dwelling with an upper-level chamber constructed ca. 1790 by Joseph Skeen, a Scotch-Irish settler. In 1824 Samuel Willson, a more affluent farmer, purchased Mulberry Grove and made three brick additions employing regional Federal detailing. James E. A. Gibbs, who received a patent in 1857 for the first twisted chain stitch sewing machine, purchased the home in 1880 for his daughter, Ellabell Gibbs Moore. M. McClung Stenett, a great-grandson of Samuel Willson, acquired the property in 1926. Additions in 1937, 1965, and 1984 expanded the house to its present form. Mulberry Grove is named for the Chinese mulberry trees that Samuel Willson grew here in an attempt to raise silkworms. An early log meat house and a double-pen log barn survive on the property.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: February 3, 2022
