Court Street- Plum Alley

Summers Law Office

Directly across Court Street from the Courthouse on the block between Main Street and Plum Alley is the William King House. Irish by birth, William King died at the age of 39 "by which time he had amassed an estate that consisted of over 19,000 acres of land in Washington County, as well as tracts in Wythe County and Tennessee. His saltworks facility [in Saltville] rented for $30,000 per year." (Nanci King, p59)

A marker on the house, placed by the Old Abingdon Association, reads: "First brick house in Abingdon. Built in 1803. He gave to the town Abingdon Male Academy now William King Arts Center." ( HMdb.org )

One block further down Court Street, after Plum Alley is a less imposing but equally significant historic structure, the Summers Law Office. "While his sons were growing up, Lewis P. Summers used the building as his law office. Here he compiled The Annals of Southwest Virginia, a major resource for those studying the history of this area. His son, Andrew, also collected materials to preserve the musical heritage of the region." (King, p. 58)

Attached to this building is a plaque, placed by the Historical Society of Washington County, which reads "Memorial to Lewis Preston, Lawyer, Historian. Andrew Rowan Summers, Lawyer, Artist, Musician. Presented to the Historical Society of Washington County by Their Heirs (1969)." (Brown, p.5)

Note: The Summers Law Office was put up for Auction on Jan. 19, 2019. "The Summers Law Office, built in 1870, will be auctioned off by the town of Abingdon on Jan. 19. The auction follows months of debate over whether the town could cede the building back to the Summers family, who have expressed an interest in restoring it."