Employing frame, log, and stone construction, this stern building is one of the oldest structures in the city of Winchester. The frame center portion of Washington’s Headquarters likely was standing in 1764 when Thomas Rutherford occupied the lot. Persistent local tradition has it that it was used by George Washington as a surveyor’s office in 1749-52 and that it later was his headquarters in 1756-57 when he supervised the construction of Fort Loudoun, a frontier defense work. Washington’s associations with the property are not documented, but the strong belief in the connection has made the structure a relic of 19th-century patriotic Washington lore. A factual occupant is Adam Kurtz, one of Daniel Morgan’s riflemen, who bought the building from Rutherford in 1778. The stone section of Washington’s Headquarters appears to be 18th-century, while the log portion is probably early-19th-century.
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
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DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
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