The Andrew and Sarah Fulton Farm is a mid-19th-century domestic and farm complex located in the Austinville area of southern Wythe County. The 38.6-acre property overlooks the New River and the New River Trail to the north, and features the Andrew and Sarah Fulton House, a two-story Greek Revival residence with a symmetrical three-bay façade, an asphalt-shingle hip roof, stone foundation, brick end chimneys, and weatherboard siding. The house’s interior boasts wood floors, plaster-finish walls and ceilings, and extensive Greek Revival trim and mantels. A relatively intact historic farm complex adjoins the house. Farm buildings include a large timber-framed barn with an integral wagon drive-through and innovative trough-form hay drops; a two-level corncrib and granary that likely date to the 1850s-1870s period; and a ca. 1920 Dickelman corn crib of steel construction. An outdoor cellar, the brick chimney of a former log dwelling, and the stone foundation of a former frame building are also located near the house. Fulton Farm was the home of Andrew Steele Fulton, a prominent attorney, political leader, and industrialist of Wythe County and Southwest Virginia, and his family. Fulton served as a representative in the Virginia General Assembly (1840-41, 1844-45) and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Whig in 1846. In 1852 Fulton and his wife, Sarah Kincannon Fulton, purchased a large parcel near the lead mining community of Austinville, where they erected the farmhouse. An important figure in the area’s industrial development, Fulton operated a leadworks facility adjacent to the nominated area that yielded $9,000 worth of lead products in 1860. In that same year, Fulton’s farm produced large crops of corn and wheat. Fulton sold the farm in 1875, which led to ownership by a succession of lead mining companies throughout the early 20th century.
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
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