Prillaman Homestead at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia near Callaway
'Rock Kitchen'
The home of Jacob Prillaman Sr. in Virginia. The family first built a rock structure which also served as a home, a fortress and later as a kitchen to the main house. The site was settled sometime between 1767 and 1772 and sits at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Franklin County, Virginia near Callaway. For many years, the house was completely overgrown with trees and brush but was finally cleared of much debris in the fall of 2020. According to a descendant of Abraham Prillaman, the oldest section of the main house was built up around an original log dwelling. Members of the Prillaman family moved out of the home sometime between 1920 and 1930. The photos on this page have been shared by family members over the years. The overgrown view of the remains of the rock kitchen from around 1950 shows the top of one of the chimneys was still intact at that time. Photos from 2020 reveal that the top has since collapsed. One of the last residents of the home was Rufus Alkanah Prillaman, (1890-1951). Around 1906, he drew the sketch which showed how the kitchen originally looked. The sketch was used as the cover of the Prillaman Family history book. He is also the person seated on the porch of the house.
