The Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House is a complex of three structures, built between the 1740s and 1780s, in Romney, West Virginia. The clerk's office, dating from the 1780s, is the oldest surviving public office building in West Virginia. The kitchen building (c. 1750) is the oldest remaining component of the Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House and the oldest building in Romney. Throughout its history, the Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House has been known as the Andrew Wodrow House, the Mytinger Family Home, and the Mytinger House.
The earliest person recorded residing on Lot Number 48 in Romney was Hugh Murphy. In 1763, Colonel George William Wilson received a patent to Lot Number 48 from Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, to purchase the lot from Murphy. Wilson served in the Hampshire County militia as a major during the French and Indian War. He relocated to Pennsylvania, and in 1770, George Washington spent the night in a log cabin on the northeastern corner of Lot Number 48. Andrew Wodrow arrived in Hampshire County near or after the end of the American Revolutionary War. In 1782, Wodrow became clerk of court for Hampshire County. He completed the clerk's office building in the 1780s, and the complex assumed its current configuration by 1790.
Wodrow served as Clerk of Court for Hampshire County until his death in 1814, after which ownership passed to Wodrow's son-in-law, John McDowell; a Dr. McClinoch; and the Mytinger family, who retained the property for about 100 years. Manning H. Williams purchased the house and restored it in 1962. Dr. Herbert P. Stelling purchased the Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House in 1973, and it opened as a museum and an arts and handicrafts shop known as Colonial Craftsmen. While under the Stelling family's ownership, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Its current owners, Old Hampshire Ltd., purchased the Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House in 1985.
Geography and setting
The Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House property is at 51 West Gravel Lane in Romney, West Virginia, within the eastern section of town Lot Number 48 and the western section of Lot Number 58. Taggart Hall, a late 18th-century residence, is immediately east of the property, and serves as the headquarters for the Fort Mill Ridge Foundation, the Hampshire County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Hampshire County Chamber of Commerce. Across West Gravel Lane to the immediate south of the Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House is the parking lot of the Romney Volunteer Fire Department, which was formerly the location of the town's Old Presbyterian Church and Cemetery on Lots No. 59 and 60.
History
Background
The land upon which the Wilson-Wodrow-Mytinger House is located was originally part of the Northern Neck Proprietary, a land grant that the exiled Charles II awarded to seven of his supporters in 1649 during the English Interregnum. Following the Restoration in 1660, CharlesII ascended to the English throne. He renewed the Northern Neck Proprietary grant in 1662, revised it in 1669, and renewed the original grant favoring original grantees Thomas Colepeper, 2nd Baron Colepeper, and Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, again in 1672. In 1681 Bennet sold his share to Lord Colepeper, who received a new charter for the entire land grant from James II in 1688. Following the deaths of Lord Colepeper, his wife Margaret, and his daughter Katherine, the Northern Neck Proprietary passed to Katherine's son Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, in 1719.
The area surrounding present-day Romney remained sparsely populated by European settlers until the middle of the 18th century, when tensions with Native Americans began to subside. Around this time, Lord Fairfax wanted to have the lands of his Northern Neck Proprietary used and enticed European settlers to move there. His initiative led to the establishment of population centers, such as Romney. After Lord Fairfax settled at Greenway Court, he oversaw the sale and settling of his proprietary lands. One of his surveyors, George Washington, stated that a sizable number of people were residing near present-day Romney by 1748. County records indicate that Lord Fairfax began selling land within present-day Hampshire County in 1749. However, the lot's first occupant or builder is unknown. By 1754, Hampshire County was formed from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties.