Sentimental Sunday

Built between 1840 and 1842, this house sat upon over 100 acres of prime farm and timber land on Potts Creek in Monroe County, [W] Virginia. It is constructed of log, and in about 1915 was covered over with clapboard. Here is the house in a photograph taken about 1925. The front of the home consists of 2 stories whereas the back was a single story addition.

This was the home that William M. Bean built for his wife, Rachel Wiseman, and their children.

In the 1970's the home was renovated once more. While the original log structure remains intact [including windows and doorways that are no longer used], the exterior has been resided once more, and a much larger back extension, that is also two-storied was added. The southern chimney was removed, and a bay window was installed.

Outbuildings that were original to the property are long gone.

Across the road and beyond a large field, hidden on a hillock in the forest, lies the family cemetery, where William and Rachel lie buried.

The house faces a beautiful gap between two mountains, into Virginia.

This, is my oldest known ancestral home in the United States. For William and Rachel were my great-great-grandparents.