By Stephen Smoot
One of the cores of Heritage Weekend lies in reliving the traditions and the spaces that Hardy County family forefathers enjoyed as close as decades and as far as centuries ago.
Locals and visitors alike can experience those traditions and times as they tour the local homes whose families have so graciously prepared and opened for Heritage Weekend.
Of course, some of the earliest rude domiciles no longer exist. Settlers and explorers wandering into the rough frontier took shelter where they could find it. Some found almost ideal homes in the rotted out cores of the massive virgin timber that could reach 12 or more feet wide at the base. Those choosing such an environment would burn and smoke out the interior to eliminate creepy crawlies and create a more or less comfortable abode. Others built trapper shacks or lean-tos as temporary lodging before moving on.
Once a man or family found the lands allotted to them, or if they just found a spot to claim where no one would notice or care, a more permanent log cabin would be erected.
Joseph Doddridge, author of “Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars”, shared that cabin building brought an entire community together, especially cabins intended for a new young family.
First came the “fatigue party” sent forth to chop and gather wood appropriate for construction. A carpenter with some combination of skills and experience would look for trees offering ideal, or at least good enough, wood to fashion a waterproof roof, which “must be straight grained and three or four feet in diameter.”
Some cabins would also have the same care taken to craft a wood floor. Others would see the lady of the house able to press and sweep the natural dirt floor to a hardened condition, almost shining.
Construction took place first with “four corner men” who notched the logs and laid them one on the other, allowing the walls to also serve as a sturdy frame. Over two days, men would raise the walls, put on the roof and floor, then on the third day, finish up the details.
Those with knowledge of masonry would lead the construction of the stone chimney and create “chinks” for spaces between the logs.
One of the earliest examples of log cabin architecture, which came to North America through a brief Swedish attempt at colonization, was built on the South Fork River downstream from Fort Seybert. Built in 1746, the Stump cabin gave Lord Fairfax and his 16 years young surveying assistant, George Washington, shelter as they marked property lines throughout the region.
Higgins House Museum, opened just this month, includes the detailed story of these early homes and settlements in the region.
Late colonial and early Republic home architecture evolved quickly as families found prosperity in land and agriculture. Well before settlers entered the South Branch Valley, the Georgian style had emerged as dominant in the early 1700s. Builders followed plans called “patterns” that were drawn up in and sold from Britain, then constructed in America.
Georgian homes used symmetrical design and window placement and employed “heavy” looking exterior features. Designers adopted classical Greek and Roman styles for a more simplified look here.
By the late 1700s, the Adam Brothers offered a less imposing and more delicate and refined design. Britain referred to such designs as “Adam,” but after the 1780s, they took the name “Federal” in an America trying to leave all things British to history.
The historic Isaac Van Meter house in Old Fields, also called Fort Pleasant, won’t be open itself for Heritage Weekend, but the nearby meeting house will host visitors. The Van Meters at Fort Pleasant creatively brought together elements of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival to create a truly unique result that still stands proud in its centuries old setting.
As the early Republic established itself, Americans celebrated the democratic aspects of the system established by the Constitution. It’s important to remember that the United States is a Republic with democratic features, not a democracy. Yet those features included the notion of egalitarianism, in which any man can rise from any level in society to any other level.
Thomas Jefferson’s designs of Monticello, the University of Virginia, and the Virginia Commonwealth Capitol combine the elegance of Greek Revival with his preference of decorative simplicity. Jefferson’s influence over architecture remained in place decades after his passing. In politics, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party that started in 1856 claimed his legacy as their own.
Columns on exterior front edifices also presented an image of security and stability. Through World War II, American architects incorporated both Greek and Roman features into everything from family homes to government complexes, including the Cass Elliot designed West Virginia State Capitol and United States Supreme Court.
One of the most beautiful and prominent Greek Revival examples in the Potomac Highlands is, unfortunately, no longer here. The Romney Academy, later the Superintendent’s residence of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind served as one of the best examples of the style in all of the Mountain State.
Greek Revival architecture in Hardy County is well represented by the P. T. Shearer House in Moorefield, as well as the Moorefield Presbyterian Church.
Fashions change in clothing, but also in architecture. Styles that dominate in one era give way to something completely different in the next. Early Hardy County architecture inspired by outside influences valued the symmetrical, the orderly, and the predictable.
This should not be surprising for the generations whose hard work and courageous warfare had helped to forge what they perceived as order from what they perceived as chaos.
After the horrors of the Civil War passed from the area, prosperity and growth emerged. Rural communities served as hubs of commerce for locals. Professional services, tradesmen, and small business owners developed a thriving local economy fed by the arrival of the railroad.
Stability and affluence led to the embrace of architecture less solid, strong and masculine and more whimsical, decorative styles that even, in some cases, featured elements of feminine appeal.
The Friddle House serves as one of the top examples of Queen Anne Victorian architecture. According to the National Park Service, this design draws from home and fortification features of Middle Ages England. These designs intentionally reject symmetry and work to inject “playfulness” into both the basic design and home ornamentation.
As the Heritage Weekend booklet explains of this residence, chosen as the 2026 Tile House, “its distinctive fish-scale shingles, decorative gingerbread trim, asymmetrical design, and welcoming wraparound porch showcase the elegance and craftsmanship of the period. Inside, visitors will find beautifully preserved ornate woodwork, detailed moldings, and other architectural features that reflect the home’s original character and timeless charm.”
In essence, every turn through the inside and outside of the house reflects a sense of design adventure and a desire to make every step and every turn a decorative adventure.
Heritage Weekend’s focus on houses, churches, stores, schoolhouses, and more, does not just give attendees a chance to enjoy beautiful old buildings. Peeling the layers of history back reveals that changes in the homes people built for themselves reflect changes in those people and their community itself.
Those old walls have many lessons yet to teach. This weekend serves as the perfect chance to listen to them.
