This capricious, if provincial, expression of the Queen Anne style, was briefly the Carroll County home of the notorious Sidna Allen. Allen was a member of the so-called Allen Clan that was involved in the gory Hillsville massacre of 1912. Five people, including the Carroll County Courthouse judge and court officials, were killed in a barrage of gunfire in the courtroom during the trial of Allen’s brother Floyd. Sidna Allen, although he claimed innocence, was found guilty of participating and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison, but was pardoned after serving thirteen years. The house, finished only a year before the shooting, was designed by Allen and his wife. It was built by Preston Dickens, a local carpenter, with Allen assisting. Allen dreamed of owning the finest house in Carroll County. The Sidna Allen House was his dream come true, until confiscated by the state following his conviction.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Programs
DHR has secured permanent legal protection for over 700 historic places - including 15,000 acres of battlefield lands
DHR has erected 2,532 highway markers in every county and city across Virginia
DHR has registered more than 3,317 individual resources and 613 historic districts
DHR has engaged over 450 students in 3 highway marker contests
DHR has stimulated more than $4.2 billion dollars in private investments related to historic tax credit incentives, revitalizing communities of all sizes throughout Virginia