Solitude is a historic home located on the campus of

Virginia Polytechnic Institute The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

at Blacksburg,

Montgomery County, Virginia Montgomery County is a county located in the Valley and Ridge area of the U.S. state of Virginia. As population in the area increased, Montgomery County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County, which in turn had been taken from Botetourt Cou ...

. The earliest section was built about 1802, and expanded first in circa 1834 and then in the 1850s by Col. Robert Preston, who received the land surrounding Solitude from his father,

Virginia Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The governor is head of the executive branch of the government of Virginia and is the commander-in-chief of the Virginia National Guard an ...

James Patton Preston James Patton Preston (June 21, 1774May 4, 1843) was a U.S. political figure who served as the 20th Governor of Virginia. Biography James Patton Preston was born at Smithfield Plantation, in what is now Blacksburg, Virginia. He attended the C ...

. Dating back over 200 years, Solitude is the oldest building on the Virginia Tech Blacksburg campus. It is a two-story, L-shaped, five bay, log and frame dwelling with a hipped roof. Mid 19th century modifications gave the farmhouse a

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

look. Also on the property are the contributing stone

spring house A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a spring. While the original purpose of a springhouse was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosing str ...

with log superstructure and an outbuilding built in about 1844 and renamed in 2019 by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors as the Fraction Family House at Solitude. This new name recognizes its usage as a dwelling for the largest enslaved population living on the site and symbolically recognizes all enslaved at Solitude. In 1872, the 250 acre Solitude farm became the part of the central campus of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, serving primarily as the college's farm. The farm house, after the death of its owner, Robert Taylor Preston, in the following decade, served as a college infirmary from 1882 to 1886. It, as well as the Fraction Family House, was then used as faculty housing for the next 60 years. In the 1940s it briefly was a clubhouse for returning

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veterans who lived in a

trailer park A trailer park, caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and e ...

surrounding the building while attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute. At that time, dances regularly were held in Solitude's two front parlors. In the 1960s and 1970s, Solitude was used by the Hokie Club in addition to housing faculty in two apartments. Academic programs started using the building in 1974. For some time, Solitude housed a human nutrition and food laboratory and

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

studios and offices. Its last occupant was the

Appalachian Studies Appalachian studies is the area studies field concerned with the Appalachian region of the United States. Scholarship Some of the first well-known Appalachian scholarship was done by Cratis D. Williams. His 1937 MA thesis in English from the Uni ...

Program, which has returned following the restoration of the building. Also located in the building is the Henry H. Wiss Center for Theory and History of Art and Architecture. Solitude had been vacant for many years prior to a $1 million (~$ in ) restoration that began in July 2010 and lasted half-a-year. Much of the project was funded by the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation of Richmond, Va. The house is situated in a landscaped park adjacent to the central campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute. an
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> It was listed on the

Virginia Landmarks Register The Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) is a list of historic properties in the Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atla ...

in 1988 and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1989. After Solitude's listing on NRHP, decade-long research and archaeology commenced to further study the main house, property, and overall site to extrapolate further historical information and evaluate what would be needed to restore the house and outbuildings. These efforts culminated in a 2000 Master's thesis by Michael Pulice, a then-Master's of Science candidate in Virginia Tech's Architecture Department, now the chief architectural historian for the Western Regional office (Salem, VA) of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Pulice concluded in his thesis that the remaining log outbuilding, long believed to be either a doctor's office or kitchen, is a surviving slave cabin and servants quarters.

References

https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/150-0100-0003_Solitude_1989_Final_Nomination.pdf
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Virginia Tech Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses completed in 1855 Houses in Montgomery County, Virginia Buildings and structures in Blacksburg, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Virginia Slave cabins and quarters in the United States