From The Archives

Corby Hall

This home was built in 1744 by John Hough, a prominant landowner and surveyor of the time.

Mr. Hough was an aquaintance and probably would be considered to have been a friend of our First President, Mr. George Washington. Mr. Washington stayed at the home on June 1st & 2nd in the year 1788, and documented his stay in his diary.

The home is located on approximately 17 acres with an additional 14.4 acres located across the road for a total of over 31.4 acres.There is also a large bank barn on the property built of brick and stone which was probably built around the time the home was built. We have been told that this is one of the few barns of this type to have survived the Civil War.

The home was originally built in the Georgian style of architecture, but in the early 1900s, around 1907, the home went through a major renovation, and was "Victorianized" at that time. Therefore, today the home more closely resembles a Victorian Home.

Recently, we have learned that the home was known as an "asylum" or a place of refuge for runaway slaves making their way north prior to the Civil War. One slave in particular named "Kitty" Payne stayed at the home overnight in 1846. After her night's stay Mr. Steere, the owner of the property at that time, took Kitty to Point of Rocks, Maryland and from there she made her way to Gettysburg, PA where she settled. Eventually Kitty came back to Virginia and won freedom for her children and for herself.