William Preston

Smithfield Plantation is the historic home of the Preston family, one of the founding families of Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. It was built by William Preston (1729-1783), who emigrated from northern Ireland with his family in 1737. He married Susanna Smith in 1761 and settled at Greenfield in Botetourt County in 1769. Preston established himself as a leader in the Virginia frontier by serving in the militia in the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars, in the House of Burgesses representing Augusta County from 1766 to 1768 and Botetourt County in 1769, and as County Lieutenant of Fincastle and Montgomery. He was appointed surveyor of Fincastle County in 1772 and moved his family to that area. He built Smithfield, named in honor of his wife, in 1773. Smithfield was the birthplace and home of three Virginia governors, including James Patton Preston (son of William), and John Buchanan Floyd and John Floyd, Jr. (grandsons of William).

Susanna Smith Preston

Susanna Smith was born in Hanover County, Virginia, in 1740 to Francis and Elizabeth (Waddy) Smith. In 1761, Susanna Smith married William Preston and in 1769, they settled at Greenfield (in Botetourt County). They moved to Fincastle in 1772, and then in 1773 to Smithfield, the home William built for her in Montgomery County. Susanna and William had at least twelve children: Elizabeth Preston Madison (1762-1837), John Preston (1764-1827), Francis Smith Preston (1765-1835), Sarah Preston McDowell (1767-1841), Anne Preston (1769-1782), William Preston (1770-1821), Susanna Preston Hart (1772-1833), James Patton Preston (1774-1843), Mary Preston Lewis (1776-1821), Letitia Preston Floyd (1779-1852), Thomas Lewis Preston (1781-1812), and Margaret Brown Preston Preston (1784-1843). William Preston died in 1783, and although the historical record is lacking about Susanna, it is known that she lived at Smithfield for another 40 years, raising the younger children and managing the household and the estate (sometimes with the help of her sons, who were known to handle legal matters). Susanna died in 1823 and is buried in the Preston Cemetery at Smithfield Plantation. Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7727619/susanna-preston. Additional information was compiled from Preston family papers in Special Collection and University Archives.

John Preston

John Preston, eldest son of William and Susanna (Smith) Preston, was born in 1764 at "Greenfield" in Botetourt County, Virginia. He periodically served in the Virginia militia throughout his lifetime. Preston was elected a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing Botetourt County in 1783, as well as Montgomery County in 1791 and again in 1803-1804. He served as a member of the Virginia Senate from 1792- 1799.

In 1792, Preston was named as a trustee in the act that established Christiansburg, Virginia in 1792, and served as a clerk of its first Board of Trustees. In 1798 he served as a trustee in the act that established Blacksburg, Virginia. In 1795, Preston became a Lieutenant Colonel, commanding the Third Regiment of Artillery. In 1799, he was elected Brigadier General, and given command of the brigade for Wythe, Montgomery, and Monroe Counties.

Later in 1810, Preston was appointed by the Virginia General Assembly to be the Treasurer of Virginia, serving until 1819. An audit of the treasurer's books found that Preston's accounts were in arrears, and a judgement was issued against Preston for 87 thousand dollars. To meet the obligation, Preston transferred a number of properties to trustees, who were to oversee their sale and the payment of funds into the treasury.

Preston married Mary Radford in 1798, and after her death in 1810, married Eliza Ann Carrington Mayo in 1811. He had seven children with his first wife and one with his second. When not on active military duty, Preston resided at "Smithfield" with his mother until his marriage, after which he lived at "Horseshoe". He died at Greenfield in 1827.

Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) has twenty branches which own and maintain historic properties. In November 1958 the APVA authorized the organization of the Montgomery County branch for the specific purpose of acquiring and restoring Smithfield Plantation, the historic home near Blacksburg in Montgomery County, Virginia, built by William Preston in 1773. In 1959 Mrs. Janie Preston Brockenbrough Lamb, a descendant of Preston, donated Smithfield and 4.5 acres of land to the APVA. Restoration of the building was begun in 1962 when the APVA's Montgomery County Branch raised the funds for renovation and contracted with architects and contractors. Since its foundation, and in more recent years, the organization has had some changes, including the dissolution of branches and the combination of the Montgomery County Branch with the Smithfield Preston Foundation. In 2009, the name was changed to Preservation Virgina.