Misplaced Pages

Beall-Air

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Historic house in West Virginia, United States United States historic place
Beall-Air
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Beall-Air in 2022
Beall-Air is located in West VirginiaBeall-AirShow map of West VirginiaBeall-Air is located in the United StatesBeall-AirShow map of the United States
Nearest cityHalltown, West Virginia
Coordinates39°18′55″N 77°48′44″W / 39.31528°N 77.81222°W / 39.31528; -77.81222
Built1820
NRHP reference No.73001914
Added to NRHPAugust 17, 1973

Beall-Air, also known as the Colonel Lewis William Washington House, is a two-story stuccoed brick house in classical revival style near Halltown, West Virginia. It was the home of Colonel Lewis William Washington, great-great nephew of President George Washington and hostage in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

The original house, now the rear portion of the house, is believed to have been built by Thomas Beall prior to 1800. Beall's daughter Elizabeth married George Corbin Washington in 1807. George Corbin was the grandson of Augustine Washington, half-brother of George Washington. The present front of the house was added in 1820.

Description

The main (1820) portion of the house is a two-story stucco-faced brick structure on a stone foundation. The corners of the three-bay house are thickened by pilasters, with a similar frieze-like thickening extending horizontally above the second floor windows. The front, or south elevation has a small portico with a flat roof and four Ionic columns. The front door has sidelights and an overlight, echoed by the second floor window immediately above the portico. The east and west ends have stepped gables with central chimneys and the "shadow" of a porch. A small 2½ story structure to the north of the main house connects to the main house with a two-story link. This structure has a gabled roof with dormers and is also stuccoed. Its windows are late 18th century in detail.

The Harpers Ferry Raid

Lewis William inherited several relics of George Washington, including a sword allegedly given by Frederick the Great to Washington and a pair of pistols given by Lafayette. John Cook, who served as John Brown's advance party at Harpers Ferry, befriended Washington and noted the relics, as well as the slave population at Beall-Air. Brown was fascinated with the Washington relics. During Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry a detachment from his force led by Cook seized the sword and pistols along with Washington at Beall-Air, taking along three of Washington's slaves. The hostages were taken to Harpers Ferry by way of the Allstadt House and Ordinary, where more hostages were taken. All survived their captivity, and Washington identified Brown to the Marine rescue party. During the assault on John Brown's Fort, a saber thrust by Marine Lieutenant Green at Brown was allegedly deflected by the belt buckle securing the Washington sword.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ Ted McGee (April 5, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Beall-Air" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2013.
  3. "National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet: Beall-Air (additional documentation)" (PDF). West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History. National Park Service. July 7, 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown's raiders
Secret Six
Other individuals
Locations
Afterwards
Related
Washington family
First generation
Lawrence Washington (1602–1652)

Coat of arms
of the
Washington family
Second generation
John Washington
Third generation
Lawrence Washington (1659–1698)
Fourth generation
Augustine Washington
Bailey Washington
Fifth generation
Lawrence Washington (1718–1752)
Augustine Washington Jr.
George Washington
Elizabeth Washington Lewis
Samuel Washington
John Augustine Washington
Charles Washington
Henry Washington
William Washington
Bailey Washington Jr.
Lund Washington
Sixth generation
William Augustine Washington
Bushrod Washington
George Steptoe Washington
Lawrence Augustine Washington
George William Washington
Seventh generation
John Thornton Augustine Washington
George Corbin Washington
Bushrod C. Washington
Peter Grayson Washington
Eighth generation
Lawrence Berry Washington
Lewis Washington
Benjamin Franklin Washington
William D. Washington
Eugenia Washington
Tenth generation
W. Selden Washington
Washington family residences
Abingdon
Arlington House
Beall-Air
Blakeley
Cedar Lawn
Claymont Court
Fairfield
Ferry Farm
George Washington Birthplace National Monument
Happy Retreat
Harewood
Kenmore
Mary Washington House
Mount Vernon
Richwood Hall
Ridgedale
Rising Sun Tavern
River Farm
Sulgrave
Washington Old Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia
Topics

Lists by
county
Other lists
Categories:
Beall-Air Add topic