Dr. Virgil Cox House

The Dr. Virgil Cox House was built in 1913 by William E. Cox and was owned from 1918 through 1936 by Samuel Cleveland Cox, who served as the secretary-treasurer of the Galax-based Mountain Loan Corporation. The home was featured in the 1914 booklet, Galax: Largest Ten-year Old Town in Virginia, alongside other large and stately houses that sprung up on West Stuart Street between the years 1900 and 1915.  

In 1936, the house was purchased by Dr. Virgil Cox after his uncle, S. C. Cox, became a financial victim of the Great Depression. From late 1936 until their respective deaths in 1991 and 1992, Dr. And Mrs. Virgil Cox lived in the house, and from the 1950s until the 1980s, Dr. Cox had his medical office located in a former apartment on the first floor of the house.  

Dr. Virgil Cox was a person of considerable historic importance to the healthcare of the Galax citizenry and to the political history of southwestern Virginia. Between 1962 and 1965, Dr. Cox served in the Virginia House of Delegates and was largely responsible for the legislation that created Grayson Highlands State Park. As a physician, Dr. Cox was described by his patients and other residents of Galax as “a real country doctor”, who treated his patients with an informal and congenial environment. Dr. Cox achieved this informality by keeping his medical office within his home and by accepting bartered goods as payment long past the era when this was considered a normal practice. In order to better serve the modern healthcare needs of his patients, Dr. Cox established the Blue Ridge Hospital and Clinic in 1952 – which treated emergencies, prolonged illnesses, and maternity cases. The clinic was consolidated into the Twin County Community Hospital in 1974.  

Dr. Virgil Cox House, Wikipedia. Accessed January 21st 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Virgil_Cox_House.

Dr. Virgil Cox House, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed December 10th 2020. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681009..