Abingdon, Virginia

Long before it was Abingdon, this ridge-and-spring country was known as Wolf Hills. Local tradition credits the name to Daniel Boone and a run-in his dogs had with wolves in 1760, a story best enjoyed as legend. What is documented is that settlers arrived in the 1760s and 1770s under purchases from the surveyor Dr. Thomas Walker, and that Joseph Black built a fort here in 1776. In 1778 the Virginia General Assembly established the town as the seat of the new Washington County.

For much of the next century Abingdon was a leading legal and commercial center for Southwest Virginia, and its buildings show it: Virginia's historic-resources records note an unusually large concentration of Federal and antebellum brick for the region. During the Civil War, Union troops under General George Stoneman struck the town; the railroad depot burned and was rebuilt, and part of that rebuilt complex survives today as the Arts Depot.

A short timeline

1. 1776 — Joseph Black builds a fort at Wolf Hills.
2. 1778 — Abingdon becomes the Washington County seat.
3. 1832 — The Preston family home that becomes The Martha is built.
4. 1933 — Barter Theatre opens, accepting produce as admission.
5. 1970 — The Abingdon Historic District is listed on the National Register.

Abingdon's Main Street is best experienced slowly. Brick sidewalks run past Federal townhouses, Greek Revival columns, Queen Anne porches and Victorian storefronts, many of them inside the Abingdon Historic District. The district was listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register in 1969 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, with 145 contributing buildings.

The Tavern, at 222 East Main Street, built of hand-cut limestone below and log above, is often described as one of the oldest standing buildings in town; sources differ on its exact construction date.

Visit Abingdon: historic Main Street · Virginia DHR: Abingdon Historic District

The Virginia Creeper Trail begins at Abingdon's trailhead on Green Spring Road, near downtown, where a historic steam locomotive stands on display. The rail-trail follows a former railroad corridor through farmland, woods and river valleys toward Damascus.

• Trail status advisory

  Partly closed

  As of October 15, 2026, the Abingdon-to-Damascus section, about 17 miles, is open. The Damascus-to-Whitetop section, heavily damaged by Hurricane Helene in September 2024, remains closed for reconstruction, with no access beyond Damascus. In July 2026 the U.S. Forest Service announced a planned reopening on March 31, 2027; treat it as a plan rather than a guarantee and check before you go.

  U.S. Forest Service trail alerts · Town of Damascus updates

• 1780s–1900s

  The historic core

  Brick and frame homes from the Federal period through the early twentieth century, some on deep, mature lots.

• Mid-century

  Established neighborhoods

  Post-war homes beyond downtown.

• Recent

  Newer residential areas

  Subdivisions toward the edges of town and in the county.

• Rural

  Washington County countryside

  Farms and rural homesites in the valleys and ridges, where wells, septic systems and access are part of the review.

Interstate 81 runs along Abingdon's edge and connects it with Bristol to the southwest and the rest of the Great Valley of Virginia. The Abingdon Visitor Center is a practical first stop for maps and information. Tri-Cities Airport in Blountville, Tennessee serves the region.

Visit Abingdon · Tri-Cities Airport