General Adam Stephen House

The General Adam Stephen House is located at 309 E. John St. in Martinsburg, and it was constructed entirely out of native limestone, sometime between the late 1770’s and early 1780’s. It is a prime example of colonial stone architecture, and is situated on a tract of land originally purchased by Adam Stephen in 1770 as part of a land parcel of 255 acres.

Prior to building the limestone structure, it is believed that a log home built had been constructed on the exact same location. By the time Martinsburg was chartered as a town in 1778, Adam Stephen was operating a distillery, two mills, and an armory along Tuscarora Creek. In 1959, the General Adam Stephen House was donated to the city of Martinsburg by William Evers, who had lived in Martinsburg for part of his life, and at that time had migrated to California.

During that same year, the General Adam Stephen Memorial Association was created for the purpose of completely restoring the house. Their stated mission was to renovate the structure as a memorial to its original owner, and to recall the namesake of the town itself, Thomas Bryan Martin, who was a nephew of Lord Fairfax. The General Adam Stephen Memorial Association worked tirelessly to acquire furnishings which would be appropriate for the period when it was actually occupied by General Adam Stephen and his family.

A bit more about Adam Stephen

Born in Scotland around 1718, Adam Stephen came to America in 1748 and established a doctor’s practice in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He accepted a military post in 1754 when the French and Indian war broke out, and was actually present with General Braddock and Colonel Washington, when hostilities began in that war.

He acquired the land along Tuscarora Creek in 1770, and after constructing his home, he began selling lots, so that the town of Martinsburg could be developed. Serving as a colonel during the French and Indian war, Adam Stephen rose to the rank of Major General when the American Revolution occurred. He delivered a mesmerizing speech at the Virginia Constitutional Convention in 1788, which was partly responsible for the state delegates ratifying the U.S. Constitution, after which other states followed suit. Adam Stephen died in Martinsburg in 1791, and was buried on the 600 block of South Queen Street of Martinsburg, then owned by his brother.

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