Winchester

 Abram's Delight, Winchester, VA     "Abram's Delight", located at 1340 S. Pleasant Valley Rd in Winchester, VA. Abraham Hollingsworth (of Thomas of Valentine) was an early settler in the Winchester area. He found the Shawnee Indians camped beside a bountiful spring and declared the property, "A Delight to Behold." He claimed 582 acres and paid the Indians a cow, a calf, and a piece of red cloth. He built a log home and mill beside the spring and brought his family from Cecil County, MD. Abraham's son Isaac built the stone house. The Hollingsworth-Parkins-Smith Cemetery is located on Jubal Early Drive, where many of this branch of the Hollingsworth's are buried.
     Tradition has it that Abraham purchased his land three times - first from the Shawnees for a cow, calf and a piece of red cloth. Then from Alexander Ross, an agent for the king, and finally for a further sum of money to quiet the cries of Lord Fairfax. Abraham's father, Thomas, was killed by a buffalo in 1733 while hunting with his son Abraham on a prairie west of Winchester near Little North Mountain. Abraham bought 582 acres and by will dated 23 Sep 1748, recorded in Frederick County, VA, 1 Nov 1748, he disposed of 1232 acres of land. His son Isaac inherited a part of the homestead.

Isaac was a leading member of the local Quaker community and designed the house so that Quaker meetings could be held there, as it was the largest home in the area. Isaac left Winchester in his later years and moved to Waterford, where he is buried in the Waterford Friends Cemetery. The home then passed to his son Jonah and modifications were required to accommodate his large family of thirteen children. The west wing of the house was added by Jonah.

Joanah's son David obtained the house around 1830 and made further improvements, including the large lake that sits to one side of the home.

The home was purchased in 1943 in order to preserve it and to protect the water supply on the property for the city. The house opened as a museum in 1961.