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The William Barnett House is an historic home located at Alleghany Springs, Montgomery County, Virginia. The house has evolved with many additions for over a century and a half. The exact date of the oldest part is thought to have been built in 1813, though it could have first been built closer to 1850 when the Barnett family acquired the property. In 1877, Erasmus Taylor bought the house and made a series of renovations in the late 1800s. He and his descendants lived at the house for many decades. It remains a private home and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

The William Barnett House. It remains a private residence.

The William Barnett House. It remains a private residence.

William Barnett House front facade

William Barnett House front facade

Built on a limestone foundation, the house is a wooden structure with a tin roof. Throughout the nineteenth century, additions increased the size of the house from a log cabin to a longer, larger house with a porch. Architecturally, the house is notable for incorporating the many additions in the regional vernacular style.

While the early history of the Barnett House site is in question, it is known that between 1849 and 1877 the Barnett Family lived in the house. A canal survey from 1827 shows two structures on the site, which may be part of the currently extant house. The oldest part of the house is a two-story log cabin section. Additional sections continued to augment the house throughout the nineteenth century, and a two-story ornamental porch spans the entire front of the house.

In 1877, Erastus H. Taylor purchased the building, and between 1885 and 1890 made renovations and additions to the structure. Taylor's descendants continued living in the home into the twentieth century. The Works Progress Administration surveyed the building in 1937. Some time before then, the kitchen of the property moved. The evolution of the house as expressed in the vernacular architecture led to its inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The house is privately owned.

Worsham, Gibson. "Barnett, William, House", National Register of Historic Places. 11-13-89. Accessed October 31st, 2019. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41678820

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:William_Barnett_House.JPG

https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/060-0472/