Near Ravenseye in Fayette County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)
Old Stone House
Photographed By J. J. Prats, July 14, 2019
1. Old Stone House Marker
Southwest is the Old Stone House, built, 1824, by Richard Tyree on the James River and Kanawha Turnpike. It was visited by Jackson, Clay, Webster, Benton, and other notables. Here Matthew Fontaine Maury wrote his book on navigation.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Notable Places. In addition, it is included in the West Virginia Archives and History series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1824.
Location. 38° 0.388′ N, 80° 52.723′ W. Marker is near Ravenseye, West Virginia, in Fayette County. Marker is at the intersection of Midland Trail (U.S. 60) and Stonehouse Road (County Route 10), on the right when traveling east on Midland Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rainelle WV 25962, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Andrew & Charles Lewis March (approx. 2.1 miles away); Sewell Mountain Campaign (approx. 4 miles away); Gen. Robert E. Lee (approx. 4.1 miles away); Camp Washington Carver (approx. 5 miles away); Camp Washington-Carver (approx. 5 miles away); Meadow River Lumber Company / United Methodist Church (approx. 6.1 miles away); Spy Rock (approx. 6.9 miles away); Nallen / Wilderness Lumber Company (approx. 6.9 miles away).
Regarding Old Stone House.
this page online
From "Historical Notes on Fayette County W. Va.", a 1958 privately-printed book by the Rev. C. Shirley Donnelly. The Old Stone House is listed in Chapter Four. Excerpt:
On the western foot of Big Sewell Mountain, on the historic James River and Kanawha Turnpike, stands the famous Old Stone House of stage-coach days.
This historic structure was built by Samuel Tyree in 1824and continued in the Tyree family until 1884 when the property was purchased by the Longdale Iron Company, which had begun to develop its property at Cliiftop, two miles distant from the Tyree roadhouse.
Babcock Coal and Coke Company next secured the property from Longdale Iron Company. At the instigation of ex-Governor William A. MacCorkle the new owners spent several thousand dollars in restoring the old stone tavern to something of its former glory. E. V. Babcock and his brother, Fred Babcock, owners of the house and surrounding countryside, were interested in historic matters and carried out the suggestions of the history-loving former chief executive of West Virginia.
This two-story building is constructed of native stone and has spacious wooden porches. The lumber in the house was whipsawed and dressed by hand. Rafters were made of un-hewn poles, with laps and splices being held together with wooden pins. Made by hand, the wainscoting in the rooms came direct from
via West Virginia Explorer, circa unknown
2. Old Stone House
A short distance from the noted house stood the log barn where the horses which pulled the stagecoaches were fed and stabled. Hewn logs were used in the building of this barn, which structure was fifty feet long by thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high.
Famous as a stagecoach stop, the halls and rooms of the Old Stone House echoed the voices of such celebrated leaders as Henry Clay and others whose names were in the news of their day and generation. During the Civil War the house was frequently used as headquarters for the various commanders whose armies were operating in that section. Daniel Webster spent a month here while on a hunting trip in the area. Andrew Jackson, Thomas Benton, John Breckinridge, like Henry Clay, were guests at one time or another. While Matthew F. Maury, “the Pathfinder of the Seas”, was recuperating from a fracture of his collar bone which he sustained when the stagecoach in which he was a passenger turned over near Old Stone House, he wrote his famous work on the charts of the sea winds and currents.
Photographed By J. J. Prats, circa July 14, 2019
3. Old Stone House Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 31, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 20, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 805 times since then and 112 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on August 20, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. 2. submitted on December 31, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 3. submitted on August 20, 2019, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
