Courthouse Hill-Abingdon Publishers

"Col. James White House"

Charles Coale 

Just east of Brewers's Alley is another landmark of Old Abingdon, The Col. James White House.

A marker affixed to the Col. James White House states that it was "Built in 1820 by James and Elizabeth White. Partially burned in 1864 during the Civil War. Restored 1866." The marker goes on to describe it as the "Boyhood home of Rev. Robert Sheffey, 'The Saint of the Wilderness', legendary circuit-riding frontier preacher who gave up wealth and social position to spread the Word and Spirit of God." Because his mother died when he was very young, Sheffey was sent to live with his Aunt Elizabeth.

Note: Nanci King states that the house was built in 1819 and an addition which served as a store and office building was added in 1828.

According to Lewis Thomson Cosby "The White block east of the home was occupied, first room by Coale and Barr as a printing office and book store kept by William F. Barr, Junior. The next room was occupied by Dr. J.A. Miller as a drug store"

"Life and Adventures of Wilburn Waters"

"Located in Washington County in the Blue Ridge Highlands of Southwestern Virginia and named after the ancestral home Martha Washington, the town of Abingdon lays claim to a rich publishing history. In November 1839, John W. Lampkin and Charles B. Coale formed a partnership and began publishing the Southwestern Virginian, previously called the People's Friend under John M. Humes. On September 4, 1841, Coale formed a new joint venture with George R. Barr, and they continued to operate the four-page weekly, renaming it the Abingdon Virginian in 1849."

"In addition to his newspaper career, Coale authored The Life and Adventures of Wilburn Waters: The Famous Hunter and Trapper of White Top Mountain published in 1878. The Abingdon Virginian continued to be published in various incarnations until the 1970s."

[In fact, the paper continued to be published under the editorship of the Weisfeld family until 2006, almost directly across Main Street from the original location]

At about the same time the Coale and Barr Southwestern Virginian was rebranded as the Abingdon Virginian, another paper, the Abingdon Democrat, began publication. Leonidas Baugh, son of Valentine Baugh who we encountered earlier on our walk, was listed as an editor along with J.M. Burnet, who lived next to the Coale-Barr establishment and just before the Courthouse.

"About the Abingdon Virginian 1849-1883," Library of Congress