The Sweetwood Home

Location: Two miles south of Maurertown, Virginia, on the east side of Route 11.

Built: circa 1783

Owners:

27 Aug 1783: Abraham Brewbaker to Tobias Miley. Deed Book ?, page 307

11 Jun 1811: Joseph Strickler and Mary, his wife, heirs of Tobias Miley, to George Koontz. Deed Book S, page 22

George Koontz willed to Evangeline Koontz, his daughter, Mrs. John Gow. Will Book D, page 34

31 May 1841: John Gow and Eveline to Henry A. Koontz. Deed Book SS, page 381

27 Jul 1847: Henry A. Koontz to Daniel Fravel. Deed Book WW, page 314

29 Apr 1850: Daniel Fravel to John W. Myers. Deed Book YY, page 452

27 Nov 1888: E.D. Newman, Commissioner, to P.W. Magruder. Deed Book 31, page 383

1 Jan 1890: P.W. Magruder to James H. Bowman. Deed Book 32, page 330

22 Jul 1929: G.R. Geary, attorney for James H. Bowman's heirs to H.H. Sweetwood and B. Sutherland. Deed Book 104, page 27

Physical Description

This house is built of logs, remodeled outside by stucco, but the original plan was retained. The stone outside chimneys have fireplaces with stone hearths and narrow mantels; a narrow window with vertical board outside shutter is on one side of this chimney, while a closet occupies the other side. The upstairs windows have twelve small panes, and the downstairs windows have fifteen small panes. The outside doors of the house are double with six panels and two crosses, while the inside ones have vertical heavy boards with long iron bar hinges and iron bar locks.

All interior doors are of the six panel, two cross style, but not as heavily constructed; these have old time iron latches and common iron hinges. The front door has a transom of four small panes; this opens into a long, narrow, dark hall with wide, hand-planed and beaded board partitions on each side, which hall continues through the house and turns to the left where a narrow, winding stairway leads to the second floor landing, and then continues to the attic.

Four rooms upstairs have wide board partitions with wooden pegs in regular rows for hanging clothes. Heavy, rough knotted beams overhead support the wide board attic floor.

The first floor rooms on each side of the hall have paneled wainscoting and the wide board floor overhead forms the ceiling; long hand-hewn beams run lengthwise the hall. From the back porch, five steps lead down to the kitchen which is one story high, with a wide fireplace which was once used for cooking. A lean to porch on ground level is now made of concrete. The front porch has a hipped end roof.

Sources: Virginia W.P.A. Historical Inventory Project, 1937



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Created November 14 2001