The Cellar

The room in the west end of the basement may have sometimes served, by original design or not, as living quarters for some of the indentured servants, poor relatives, and soldiers. It may have been further subdivided and undoubtedly served some domestic and/or service function.  These functions were most likely storage, most labor would have been difficult in such a space with no light.

Museum

Today, the cellar area of the home houses our Museum. This room is a self-guided space.

Cases 1 & 2: Includes artifacts from later generations of Prestons (great-grandchildren/spouses, great nieces/nephews, cousins etc.)

Case 3: Contains archaeological artifacts found onsite at Smithfield during different digs in the 1960s, 1970s and early 2000s.

Case 4: 1st and 2nd generation Preston artifacts - these artifacts were either in the house in 1774 and after, or used by the people who lived onsite.

Case 5: Contains archaeological artifacts found onsite at Smithfield during different digs in the 1960s, 1970s and early 2000s.

Other items in the museum include :

Portraits of, James McDowell (Preston descendant) Governor of Virginia from 1843 - 1846, John Floyd (husband of Letitia Preston child of William and Susanna), Governor of Virginia from 1830 - 1834, James Patton Preston (8th child of William and Susanna) who inherited Smithfield - Governor of Virginia from 1816 - 1819, and small portraits of: Robert Taylor Preston, Susanna Smith Preston, James Francis Preston.

Exhibit Pieces such as a flax breaker, flax heckles, spinning wheels, a Preston family tree, a construction square, and James Patton Preston’s dagger.