Located on about nine acres in the town of Abingdon, Retirement and the Muster Grounds property consists of a Federal-period brick dwelling (Retirement) and the meadow where a Washington County militia mustered before marching south to fight in the Kings Mountain Campaign during the Revolutionary War. Also known as “Dunn’s Meadow,” the Muster Grounds served the same purpose for local militia during the War of 1812, the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World War I. Today the property is the official starting point of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, which highlights the route of an American Patriot Army under the command of Colonel William Campbell that decisively defeated an American Loyalist force at the battle of Kings Mountain in the fall of 1780. That Patriot army began with 400 militiamen gathering at the Muster Grounds in Abingdon and later grew as the Virginians joined with militias from Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina to become known as the “Overmountain Men.” The battle of Kings Mountain is considered a turning point in the war. Retirement, constructed ca. 1808 and expanded in 1858, in the 1880s, and again between 1910-1920, is important for its architectural character and quality of workmanship.
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