Aspen Hall, also known as the Edward Beeson House, was built beginning in 1771 as a stone house in the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

style in what would become

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in and the seat of Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the tip of the state's Eastern Panhandle region in the lower Shenandoah Valley. Its population was 18,835 in the 2021 census estimate, making it the largest city in the E ...

. The first portion of the house was a 20 by 20 foot "fortified stone home", 2½ stories tall., in coursed rubble limestone built in 1745 by Edward Beeson I. It is the oldest house in Martinsburg. The Georgian block of the house was built by Edward Beeson II, a wealthy Quaker farmer and miller. Beeson died in 1817 and the house was sold to Mathew Ranson of Jefferson County in 1821, who then sold it to Union Colonel John W. Stewart in 1850. The house remained in the Stewart family until 1926. Aspen Hall is notable for its outstanding entrance hall, measuring wide and deep. The original interior was laid out in a side hall arrangement, two rooms deep. The principal interior rooms are paneled. About 1900 the house was altered to make what had been the rear entrance the front, and Victorian details were added. The property includes the blockhouse of Mendenhall's Fort, built about 1755 by John Mendenhall, brother of Edward Beeson I's widow. There was a wooden stockade that extended from the blockhouse to surround Mendenhall's and Beeson's homes. Mendenhall's home was also built in 1755, making it the second oldest house in Martinsburg. The fort was built to defend the area against Native American attack during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. The fortification was noted by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

in a communication to Colonel

William Fairfax William Fairfax (1691–1757) was a political appointee of the British Crown in several colonies as well as a planter and politician in the Colony of Virginia. Fairfax served as Collector of Customs in Barbados, Chief Justice and governor of the ...

in 1757. Col. Washington garrisoned troops at Mendenhall's several times. House of Burgesses candidate Washington attended a wedding at "Mendenhall's Mill" in 1761. The property was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1980, and is included in the Boyd Avenue Historic District.

Notes

External links

SAH Archipedia Building Entry
{{National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Bed and breakfasts in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Martinsburg, West Virginia Colonial architecture in West Virginia French and Indian War forts Georgian architecture in West Virginia Houses completed in 1776 Houses in Berkeley County, West Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Martinsburg, West Virginia Stone houses in West Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in West Virginia Quakerism in West Virginia