Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
Two state historical markers issued by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources will be dedicated in Smyth County that highlight Abijah Thomas’s 17-room Octagonal House, a highly-refined example of such architecture, and the Village of Holston Mills, which arose around a textile operation Thomas co-founded about 1860 that produced cloth for Confederate soldiers’ uniforms.
The Octagon House Foundation (OHF) will dedicate the “Abijah Thomas and His Octagonal House” sign Friday, June 4, starting at 11 a.m. The ceremony convenes at the house and marker’s location at 615 Octagon House Road, near Marion. An unveiling of the “Village of Holston Mills” marker follows at 12 noon at the sign’s location at the intersection of Virginia Routes 650 (South Fork Road), 604 (Red Stone Road), and 648 (Old Mill Road). The Holston Mills marker is sponsored by the family of the late Victor C. and Minta R. Neitch. More information.
