About

This plain Shenandoah Valley brick farmhouse is a relic of the early German Baptist Brethren, or Dunkers, known originally in the area of the Rockingham County town of Broadway as the Society of Tunkers, who opposed the use of churches and held their religious services in selected homes. The Tunker House was erected between 1802 and 1806 for Benjamin Yount, who outfitted the front portion of the first floor with hinged partitions that could be raised to accommodate religious gatherings. Yount's daughter was the wife of Peter Nead, a leading member of the Tunkers and author of Primitive Christianity, which served as the Brethren's first theological work in English. Nead and his wife occupied her father's house until 1839. Although The Tunker House is now a private residence, the hinged partitions of this combination church-home remain in place.