Rion Hall is a late

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classical architecture built in the United States following the American Revolution between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was influenced heavily by the works of And ...

house near

Halltown, West Virginia Halltown is an unincorporated community situated along Flowing Springs Run in Jefferson County, West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atl ...

. Built in 1836, it consists of a three-story brick house with a two-story kitchen wing connected by a wood hyphen. The house was used as a headquarters for General

Philip H. Sheridan Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the n ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The house was built in 1836 by William Lucas. Lucas was the son of Robert and Sarah Rion Lucas, and was born at Cold Spring. In 1838, Lucas was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, serving a total of three terms. At William Lucas' death, the property passed to his son, Daniel Bedinger Lucas, a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, who was briefly appointed to the

US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

by the Governor of West Virginia, but not seated. With Daniel Lucas' death the property passed to Virginia Lucas, whose accidental death in 1929 left the house vacant for ten years. In 1938 the house changed hands and underwent renovation.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Houses in Jefferson County, West Virginia Houses completed in 1836 Federal architecture in West Virginia Greek Revival houses in West Virginia Family of Robert Lucas (governor) National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, West Virginia 1836 establishments in Virginia {{AmericanCivilWar-stub

See also

References