History

William Preston, a leader of westward expansion and a prominent Southwestern Virginia Revolutionary War patriot came to settle at the eastern continental divide and established Smithfield as his home.   In a land of log cabins and physical hardship, Smithfield, in its sophisticated elegance, became the political and social center of Fincastle County, Virginia (1772).  Of course, the newly-formed County included all of Southwest Virginia and all of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a rather large area indeed.

Completed in 1774, Smithfield became not only the county’s political and social center, it was a beacon, a destination, for thousands of settlers moving west to seek new land and opportunity.  Smithfield became a place of resting and storing new provisions before the next leg of the westward passage.

Travel back to the 18th century.  Experience life in the home of a colonial leader with the guidance of a costumed interpreter who knows the culture as well as the artifacts.

Smithfield stands today as the finest example of an original, pre-Revolutionary structure in Western Virginia.

Smithfield is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register and is a member of  the The New River Heritage Coalition.  In 2014, Smithfield was designated by the Virginia General Assembly as the Family Homestead of Virginia Governors.