About

Avoca was originally the private residence of Colonel Charles Lynch (1736-1796). He established his home here in 1755 as part of a land grant from King George II to his father, in 1740, and called it Green Level. Colonel Charles Lynch was a planter and distinguished himself as a lawmaker and a soldier during the turbulent times of the Revolutionary era. The property was passed down through the Lynch family and upon the death of Charles Henry Lynch (1800-1874), the property went to his niece, Mary Anna Dearing Fauntleroy. Her grandson, Dr. Lindley Murray Winston, deeded the property to the Town of Altavista in 1981 as a memorial to his family. At that time the property consisted of the main house, brick kitchen, smokehouse, milk house, farm office, and approximately ten acres.

Avoca is a country Victorian house constructed in 1901, after the original and second dwellings were destroyed by fire in 1879 and 1900. The house is a commissioned work of the Lynchburg Architect, John Minor Botts Lewis in the Queen Anne style. It is a Virginia landmark and listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained as a historical museum. The collection, displays, programs and interpretations take account of the cultural and natural history of the region. The Lane Furniture Company, famous for its Lane Chests collaborated with Country Living Magazine in 1991 and 1992 to fully refurbished the main house.