Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Smithfield Plantation House Architectural Drawings must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Smithfield Plantation House Architectural Drawings, Ms2011-053, Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

Drawings were found in 2011. They were transferred to Special Collections from the Virginia Tech Art & Architecture Library. The topographical maps were transferred from the Art & Architecture Library in December 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Smithfield Plantation House Architectural Drawings was completed in June 2011. Topographical maps were added to the collection in January 2012.

Historical note

Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-83), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).

In November 1958 the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA)authorized the organization of the Montgomery County branch for the specific purpose of acquiring and restoring Smithfield Plantation, the historic home near Blacksburg in Montgomery County, Virginia, built by William Preston in 1773. In 1959 Mrs. Janie Preston Brockenbrough Lamb, a descendant of Preston, donated Smithfield and 4.5 acres of land to the APVA. Restoration of the building was begun in 1962 when the APVA's Montgomery County Branch raised the funds for renovation and contracted with architects and contractors. The APVA is now known as Preservation Virginia.

Scope and Content

Set of elevation and floor plan drawings of the Smithfield Plantation House in Blacksburg, VA. Drawings are attributed to H.A. Elarth, AIA and C.S. Worley Jr., AIA of Blacksburg, VA. Topographical maps are labeled "Virginia Polytechnic Insitute and State University Physical Plant."

Arrangement

Drawings are arranged by material type.

Related Material

Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, Montgomery County Branch Papers, Ms1962-001 Herschel Gustave Anderson Elarth Papers, Ms1988-182 Charles S. Worley, Jr., Papers, Ms1996-017

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Blacksburg (Va.)
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Montgomery County (Va.)
• Smithfield Plantation House (Blacksburg, Va.)