Who We Are & What We Do

Winchester was originally the land of the Massawomeck and the Manahoac. The Winchester area was a frequent travel corridor for indigenous tribes, specifically those of the Haudenosaunee Nations; the Seneca in particular were present in the region in the 1600's and 1700's, as they had recently absorbed the Massawomeck. This path is sometimes referred to as the Great Warrior Road. After a series of skirmishes with white colonists in the 1700’s, the Treaty of Albany in 1722 saw indigenous peoples trading land east of the Blue Ridge Mountains for exclusive use of the lands west of the mountains. This was short-lived, as white settlers disregarded the treaty and continued to push over the mountains and into the Shenandoah Valley. Virginia has 9 state-recognized tribes as of today. 

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Area records show that the house at 122 West Cork was built in the 1840’s and was originally owned by Oliver M. Brown, who occupied the house along with this wife, children, and two enslaved people. We are hoping to conduct more research about the enslaved people who lived in this house. Brown owned three houses along West Cork Street and eventually had seven children. 

Preservation for Historic Winchester has shared that this two-story, five-bay single- family dwelling is set on a solid random rubble foundation. The roof is standing-seam metal, and the gabled roof includes a molded cornice, returns, overhanging eaves, and a plain frieze.