Hickory Hill is a historic estate in

Rockbridge County, Virginia Rockbridge County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its county seat is the city of Lexington. Rockbridge County completely surrounds the ...

. The main house at Hickory Hill was built from 1823 to 1824 for Reuben Grigsby who was born June 6, 1780. He was one of many children, cousin to educator

Hugh Blair Grigsby Hugh Blair Grigsby (November 22, 1806 – April 28, 1881) was an American lawyer, journalist, politician, planter and historian. In addition to representing Norfolk in the Virginia House of Delegates before the American Civil War, he served as th ...

(1806–1881). Daughter Mary Ann Grigsby (1828–1878) married

William Sanderson McCormick William Sanderson McCormick (November 2, 1815 – September 27, 1865) was an American businessman who developed the company that became the major producer of agricultural equipment in the 19th century. The business became the International Harves ...

(1815–1865) on July 11, 1848. McCormick was son of Robert McCormick (1780–1846) of the plantation called Walnut Grove which was located on the northern end of the same county. After giving birth to

Robert Sanderson McCormick Robert Sanderson McCormick (July 26, 1849 – April 16, 1919) was an American diplomat. Born in rural Virginia, he was part of the extended McCormick family that became influential in Chicago. Early life McCormick was born July 26, 1849 on the ...

(1849–1919), the family moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to go into business with brothers

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

and

Leander J. McCormick Leander James McCormick (February 8, 1819 – February 20, 1900) was an American inventor, manufacturer, philanthropist, and businessman and a member of the McCormick family of Chicago and Virginia. Along with his elder brothers Cyrus and William ...

. Reuben Grigsby died on the estate on February 6, 1863. Son Lucien Porter Grigsby (1820–1893), was the last Grigsby to own the farm. The estate was broken up in 1874 with some going to various daughters. In 1878 the house was sold to settle Lucien's debts, and passed through a number of owners. On June 10, 1929, it was purchased by Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick (1880–1955), and Chauncey McCormick (1884–1954), cousins who were great-grandsons of Reuben Grigsby. The main house is constructed in the

Federal architecture Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

style from

Flemish bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and Mortar (masonry), mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''Course (architecture), courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks ...

brick with three integrated chimneys. The south side has a two-story portico with

Doric column The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

s. Hickory Hill was owned by the McCormick family until 1944. It was added to the Virginia state list of historic places as site 081–0022 on June 8, 2006, and 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 v ...

on August 30, 2006. At the time its owners were Donald J. Hasfurther and his wife Cameron F. Bushnell, and about remained preserved. It is located at 197 Hickory Hill Lane between State Route 608 (Forge Road) and

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island ...

, north of the current town of

Glasgow, Virginia Glasgow is a town in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the James and Maury Rivers. The population was 1,133 at the 2010 census. Glasgow has had issues with flooding, notably during Hurricane Camille in 1969. As a ...

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Federal architecture in Virginia Houses completed in 1824 National Register of Historic Places in Rockbridge County, Virginia Houses in Rockbridge County, Virginia