National Register Listing

Cunningham, Samuel, House

a.k.a. Pleasant View Farm

SE of Hedgesville off WV 9, Hedgesville, WV

The Samuel Cunningham House, located near Hedgesville, Berkeley County, West Virginia, is a representative sample of the end of early, frontier-associated struggles in the farming life of the area, for it helps depict the beginnings of substantial growth and prosperity for those who would work diligently to improve their standing in a settled and established section. Perhaps this evolution reached its height in the person of William Cunningham, Samuel's son, who not only provided well for family heirs at the time of his death just prior to the Civil War but who also emancipated his slaves and devised a sizable allotment for their well being. The major dwelling house which was constructed by Samuel and added to by William is a fair example of a considerable farm residence that grew from the application of wealth gained largely through agriculture and real estate transactions.

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, Berkeley County, Virginia, established in 1772, had settled to a position more in the mainstream of life directed toward the state capital to the southeast and the new national capital at Washington. What until recently had been more or less on the fringes of the frontier had stabilized and grown in population after the Revolutionary War, and the gently rolling hills to the east of the North Mountain barrier continued to attract Washingtons, Lees, Tuckers, and others of prominent and established families. For the most part, though, the land drew the small farmer who carved out a living on stock which grazed in sight of numerous limestone outcroppings and often near woods or the stumps of trees recently removed. The second and third generations were building larger houses of stone, brick, or frame, sometimes adding to structures their ancestors had built. The day of the log house had long since gone, and readily available limestone could be seen in many fine farmhouses.

The numerous Hedges offspring in the area west of Martinsburg (the county seat) and near the gap of North Mountain that was destined to become Hedgesville were beginning to offer their extensive holdings--some improved and some not--to newer residents. Between 1815 and 1819, Samuel Cunningham purchased over one hundred acres of land along Warm Springs Road from the heirs of Benjamin Hedges. Before his death in 1824, Cunningham had what was to become, in the hands of his son, William, a substantial estate. One of the outstanding portions of Samuel's holdings was his dwelling which was situated on a rise overlooking his prosperous farm. In addition, he had accumulated enough wealth to retain several slaves.

Although not outstanding in style or feature, the limestone dwelling which Samuel Cunningham and their family occupied around 1820 was impressive, nonetheless. It consisted of a high, two-story main section and a lower, two-story wing which included a porch to its rear. The house was only one room deep, but in the main section, these rooms were about twenty-four feet long. On the first floor was a wide hall between the large dining room and parlor, and on the second level was the master bedroom, which was as large as the parlor below, and what appear to have been two smaller bedrooms. Appointments and woodwork were not elaborate, but the mantels on the main fireplaces, the built-in closets or presses in the master bedroom, deep-seated windows, and wainscoting on the first floor and stairwell gave the interior an appearance of being quite comfortable. About 1840 William added a two-story brick section which was attached to the lower stone unit and extended the house an additional eighteen feet. The overall length reached over seventy-two feet, presenting a fine picture of a substantial farmhouse associated with relatively well-to-do inhabitants.

Samuel's estate consisted of the house, land, several slaves and a fair amount of livestock when he died. His will provided for the disbursement of his chattels, cows, sheep, hogs and horses as well as at least $3,720 in cash. Sometime after 1832, his son William bought the interests in the house and most of the lands and set about a prosperous business. The census of 1850 showed the value of his real estate to have been $18,820, and by the time of his death in 1857, his estate consisted of land in Ohio as well as Berkeley County.

William was nothing short of magnanimous in his will. After providing well for his wife, he devised $9,400 outright to several nieces and nephews and offered his brother Hugh $200 per year until death. His concern for the well-being of his family extended even further, for two bequests of $500 each were to be applied to purposes of education, and at least five servants (he did not list them as slaves, but they were certainly Negroes) were to be emancipated and given $200 and a suit of clothes. In addition, one servant boy was to be hired out until twenty-one years of age to learn a good trade, presumably to be freed at that time.

The Cunningham House has remained in various branches of the family almost continuously to this day, and it is once again being maintained by descendants of Samuel and his offspring. For the most part, the major association with the house has been farming, and it seemed to have provided a comfortable living for early occupants, especially in the person of Samuel's son, William.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1976.