Richard Morgan's Old Stone House

The Old Stone House is considered one of the oldest houses in the state of West Virginia. Richard Morgan, believed to be one of the earliest settlers in the county, received two grants for a total of 500 acres on October 7, 1734. He built the Old Stone House, a 1.5-story structure built from rubble fieldstone with dormers and end chimneys, that same year. Morgan sold a parcel of land to Thomas Shepherd, who eventually established Shepherdstown, but also continued to acquire land. By 1768 Richard Morgan and his sons owned more than four thousand acres.

Morgan called the property Falling Springs after the many springs on and around the estate. The original house was constructed near one of these springs and just off a pre-Revolutionary wagon path. In 1745, Morgan built a second one-story house; this would become the first section of Poplar Grove/Rosebrake. Richard Morgan served as a captain during the French and Indian War recruiting troops, defending the area from Native raids, and marching with a company to Fort Cumberland to support General Braddock.

Richard Morgan died in 1763 and willed about 2,500 acres to members of his family in his will.

“National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Falling Spring; Morgan’s Grove.” Accessed October 15, 2020. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/jefferson/88002670.pdf.

"The Morgan Family." Bedinger Family History and Genealogy. Accessed October 21, 2020. http://www.bedinger.org/the-morgan-family.html.