The Grove

The Grove, an antebellum Greek Revival estate, built by John Stafford Hale and his wife, Margaret Ingles Saunders Hale, great-granddaughter of Mary Draper Ingles [see Thom’s “Follow the River” for her story of capture by and escape from the Shawnee in 1755] , is open for tours, by appointment only. Confederate General Jubal A. Early’s law office is on the grounds. Ornate plasterwork, crown moldings, floor-length board in the floors, original plantation hearth in a separate building, “dependencies” (slave cabin, smokehouse, storage buildings) can be viewed. The house is located in the heart of Rocky Mount, VA. A B&B nearby, Claiborne House, and a new Holiday Inn Express near some restaurants are convenient places to stay while visiting the town and The Grove. The Blue Ridge Institute at nearby Ferrum College, a 1935 WPA Post Office Mural in Rocky Mount, and music at the Farmers Market and Dairy Queen are other attractions. The Grove and the Blue Lady Studio are part of the Crooked Road Music Trail’s art/artisan trail, The White Lightning Trail. Rocky Mount is one end of the Crooked Road Music Trail (Abingdon, the other). T. K. Greer’s “The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935” [area moonshine culture] was written here.

General Info

Civil War, Historic Buildings, Historic Districts, Historic Homes, Historic Sites

Adventures Nearby