About

One of the earliest of Alleghany County's pioneer dwellings, this house was built by Jacob Persinger, member of a settler family. Persinger as a child was captured by a group of Native Americans and later adopted many of their cultural practices. After he married Mary Kimberlin in 1778, she refused to conform to his way of living, so he built her the present house, reported to be the finest in the county at the time. The Persinger House was enlarged to its present form with its two-level gallery ca. 1888. The original log section is an interesting vernacular structure retaining numerous original features, including a finely joined vertical board partition with beveled joints. The Persinger House has a hall/parlor plan, a standard one for 18th-century Virginia vernacular dwellings.