Hughes
House
The historic Thomas
Hughes House was built by Thommes Hughes in 1814 of hand-hewn stone
cut by Thomas' slaves from a nearby quarry. This is one of only a
few houses built by slaves north of the Mason Dixon line. While one
part of the two-story home may have been built as early as 1792,
the main part was constructed in 1814. The original one-story
section was most likely a kitchen that was attached to a cabin. On
the southeast gable of the present structure, an oval stone
contains the inscription 1814, T.H.E.H. for Thomas and Elizabeth
Hughes.
Hughes freed all his slaves prior to the Civil War as he was
opposed to slavery. His home became a station on the underground
railroad. Slaves were hidden in a coal mine behind the house in
warm weather and in the cellar during the winter. An underground
tunnel connected the cellar with the mine.
Thomas was a prominent businessman involved in farming, tanning,
milling, distilling and was one of the first to discover coal in
the creek banks in the area. He was also an avid political figure
and as a distiller was involved in the whiskey insurrection of 1794
and was a justice of the peace for many years.
Thomas Hughes founded and laid out the town of Jefferson, Greene
County, where there are two stories that go along with his naming
it Jefferson. One is that he named it after Thomas Jefferson and
the other is that he named it after the county he was from,
Jefferson County, Virginia, although he was born in Loundon County,
Virginia.
The Historical Society has overseen this site for the PHMC for the
last 12 years until funding for its restoration could be procured.
The Governor has recently released these funds and construction
bids are currently being sought for adaptive reuse restoration of
the original structure with an appropriate period addition to meed
ADA requirements. A lease agreement between the PHMC and the Greene
County Library System, for the use of the site as a satellite
library for the area,
Thomas Hughes House Reading
Center!
Hours
|
Sunday |
Closed |
|
Monday |
Closed |
|
Tuesday |
2-7 |
|
Wednesday |
10-3 |
|
Thursday |
1-6 |
|
Friday |
Closed |
|
Saturday |
10-3 |