POPLAR GROVE
THE HOME OF COL. ABRAHAM PENN
Col.
Abraham (Abram) Penn was born in Goochland or Amherst County Virginia in 1743.
He married Ruth Stovall in 1767 in Amherst County, Virginia. Shortly
thereafter, he moved to Henry County, Virginia and lived on Beaver Creek on
land which was later the home of Col. George Hairston.
When
Henry County was formed in 1776, Abram Penn was the presiding justice of the
County Court. He organized and commanded the Henry County troops in the Battle
of Guilford Courthouse in the American Revolution and was at the Surrender in
Yorktown.
Sometime
after the War, Col. Penn sold his Beaver Creek property to Col. George
Hairston and purchased large acreages of land on the headwaters of the North
Mayo River, which later became a part of Patrick County. He built a home here,
which he named Poplar Grove. With his large family, he lived here until his
death in 1801, and is buried in the cemetery near the house.
In
1786, the people in the western section of Henry County (now Patrick Country)
complained that the Henry County Courthouse which was located across the Smith
River from Hordsville, was too far from the center of the County. The County
Court decided to move the courthouse to the farm of Col. Penn, which was
nearer the center of the County at that time. At least one session of the
Court was held in the home of Col. Penn. Later, a courthouse and necessary
adjacent structures were built nearby. Unfortunately, no one now living seems
to know exactly where the courthouse was located.
In
1791, when Patrick became a county, the Henry County Courthouse was located in
Patrick County. The Henry County Courthouse was moved to its present location
on land donated by Col. George Hairston. Due to the influence of Col. Penn and
his son-in-law, Col. Samuel Staples, the Patrick Courthouse was moved to its
present location.
The
building here now is probably an addition, which was later added to the Penn
home. One section of the old home was torn down only a few years ago. The
original structure has long since disappeared. The remaining section is rather
old. A family member says it was added about 1836.
Poplar
Grove sits on an eminence overlooking the low land of the North Mayo River
Valley. The poplar trees, for which it was probably named, have long since
disappeared; but it can easily be seen that the view from the house in those
days was a beautiful one.
Col.
Penn's descendents continued to live at Poplar Grove for many years. A son,
Thomas Penn married Martha K Kennerly, and their daughter, Eliza, married
Samuel William Hairston, the operator of the iron works at Union Furnace. Some
of the iron was brought to Mayo Forge, which was located on the river just
south of Poplar Grove. Here it was made into tools and farm implements.
A large number of the descendents of Col. Abram Penn have been prominent in the affairs of Patrick and Henry County, Virginia since the beginnings of the counties. Many descendents have also been prominent elsewhere. Descendents were prominent in the manufacture of tobacco products. Greenville Penn, son of Col. Abram, moved to that section of Patrick County now known as Penn's Store, and started manufacturing tobacco products. His son, Thomas Jefferson Penn, moved to Danville and engaged in the tobacco business. He later moved to Reidsville, N.C. and established a business, which became the American Tobacco Co.
This page was written by Mr. O. E. Pilson for the 1996 Hairston Reunion