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The Barter Theatre and "The Martha"

The Martha Washington Inn

Martha Wahington Academy

Bartering with Robert Porterfield

“With Vegetables You Cannot Sell, You Can Buy a Good Laugh.”

The Barter Theatre and The Martha Washington Inn are probably the most recognizable features in the Historic District of Abingdon.

The story of the Barter is almost as fabulous as the productions that are staged there. "A repertory theater group was organized in the 1930's by Robert Porterfield for out-of-work actors. From bartering admission tickets for anything from huckleberries to lamb chops, it has grown into the State Theatre of Virginia."

"The red brick Oprey House dated back to the early 1830's, originally built as the new Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church, later falling into the hands of the Sons of Temperance and becoming widely known as the Temperance Hall."

"When Robert Porterfield arranged to use the hall for debut of his new company, the town hall was upstairs and the jail occupied the basement. Across the street stood a sprawling mansion--the defunct Martha Washington College--where Porterfield's actors had taken up residence. A stately reminder, it epitomized the grandeur and grace of a revered but bygone era... "

"The Martha" as it is now known was built in 1832 as a residence for Gen. Francis Preston and his family.

Just east of the Martha and across Main Street from the Barter Theatre is Historical Marker K-54, commemorating The Stonewall Jackson Female Institute. Like the Martha Washington College, the Institute operated as a boarding school for young women. 

(More Markers below)

Abingdon was unique in offering educational opportunities for girls.

"The fist institute of higher leaning for women in Virginia was founded in 1806 when the short lived Richmond Female Academy began operation. A few others came into being in the following decades, but the only one to survive into the 21st century is Mary Baldwin College... .

"Somewhat surprisingly, the South far outnumbered the North in the founding of colleges for women. According to one study, thirty-two of the thirty-nine colleges chartered in the nation during the 1850s were in the South. One of these was Martha Washington College... " (along with the Stonewall Jackson Academy, which started classes in 1868).

"It was renamed the Stonewall Jackson College in 1914 when the Montgomery Presbytery assumed joint ownership. On 24 Nov. 1914, the main buildings were destroyed by fire. The college continued to operate [at a different location] until 1930, when it closed because of mounting debts." [Historic Marker Database]

The Barter Theatre acquired the land, along with the Methodist Church that also stood on the property and developed it into the "Barter Green" along with a seperate repertory venue, the Smith Stage.

K 49: "Abingdon"..."First known as Wolf Hills, land was patented here by Dr. Thomas Walker in 1750. Black's Fort was built, 1776. The town of Abingdon was established in 1778 as the county seat of Washington County. A courthouse, built about 1800, was replaced in 1850. In 1862 the church bells were melted for cannon. In Stoneman's raid, December, 1864, the town was partly burned. A new courthouse was built, 1869.

K 53: "The Barter"..."The Barter Theatre building was constructed about 1830 as a church, which was remodeled several times. Among the oldest theaters in America, the building hosted its first performance in 1876. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Robert Porterfield, an enterprising actor and Washington County native, created the Barter Theatre and proposed exchanging “ham for Hamlet.” The theater opened its doors on 10 June 1933... .

K 56: "The Martha Washington College"..."The McCabe Lodge No. 56, Independent Order of Odd Fellows decided in 1853 to establish a women's college named after Martha Washington. The Holston Conference of the Methodist Church assumed control of the project by 1858. That same year the conference purchased the Gen. Francis Preston House (ca. 1832) to house the college.

The Barter Theatre Story: Love Made Visible, Marke Dawidziak, p. 8

Anne Carter Lee SAH Archipedia, "Barter Theatre"

Ronald Heinemann, "Great Depression in Virginia." Encyclopedia Virginia

"A Vegetable for a Laugh," Blue Ridge Country, Sept. 1, 2008; from "Will Work for Food," a retrospective history published by The Barter Theatre

"McCabe Lodge, Number 56, I.O.O.F and the Founding of Martha Washington College," James William Hagy. HSWCVa Bulletin, Series II, No. 54 (2017), p. 5-6

Barter