Madison County
Nicholson Hollow
Buddy and Victoria Nicholson
Home in Lower Nicholson Hollow, Madison County, along the Hughes River. At the time of park creation, it was located on a 20-acre tract of land that Buddy Nicholson bought in 1925. This is the site with an historic occupation history going back to the entry of the Nicholsons into the part of Nicholson Hollow now in the park boundary when John and Anne Nicholson patented 170 acres in 1799. The land encompassing this site was deeded to their son-in-law William Berry in 1805 who sold to James Ward who held five enslaved people on the property. It then went through five more owners in the 19th century and eventually was acquired by Buddy Nicholson.
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Photo by Audrey Horning
John Russ Nicholson Homesite
Old image of the house intact. The newer image is of the ruins.
Schoolhouse
Fenton and Perry Sisk
Lower Nicholson Hollow, Madison County. Situated on a 97 acre tract of land at park creation. Park records indicate that 10 acres were under cultivation and another 30 employed as pasture. Origins of the land tract go back to a 1779 land grant to James McDaniel and a 487 land grant to Benjamin Lillard. Later owners of the land that would eventually make up the Fenton and Perry Sisk tract included Benjamin Nicholson (acquired 1819), Acrey Nicholson, Arnold Nethers, Hettie Hudson Lucy and Wade Yowell, and Emily Nicholson (it’s complex!). The house itself had two stories and five rooms at the time of park creation.
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Photo by Audrey Horning
Old Mill
The pictures to the right show the ruins of an old mill and the possible tools used inside.
Shade Tree
This old oak tree could have been used as a shade tree.
Irrigation and Water
This shows the opening to a spring for collecting water.
Churches
The larger image to the right shows the Hughes River Church and the bottom left image shows Dark Hollow
Falls Church.
Corbin Hollow
Fennel Corbin
This is the house. of Fennel Corbin as it looked originally and the ruin as it stands today.
Corbin Hollow Schools
To the right is a teacher in Corbin Hollow. Her name was Ms. Nellie Walton. The other picture shows the lid to the wood stove used in the school.
Cemeteries
Nicholson Family
To the right are images of the Nicholson family cemetery. One of the images is the gate to the cemetery.
Jenkins family
This image shows a headstone in the Benjamin Jenkins cemetery,
Cave family
This image shows the Cave family cemetery.
Alger, Smith and Grayson family
This image shows the gravestone of a Sisk family member.
Household Items
Stove
This image shows the base of a stove used for heat and cooking.
Pottery
This image shows pottery used for eating or drinking.
Woodworking
This image shows a chestnut fencepost.
Transportation
Car found at Betty's Rock.
Ruins and Chimneys
Chimenys
Remaining chimneys left after the houses were demolished.
Buildings
Foundation and what is left of a building.
Reference for the image in the header
United States Resettlement Administration, Rothstein, A., photographer. (1935) Home of Bailey Nicholson, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. United States Shenandoah National Park Va. Shenandoah National Park Virginia, 1935. Oct. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2017721435/.
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​United States Resettlement Administration, Rothstein, A., photographer. (1935) Weaving a basket, Shenandoah National Park, Nicholson Hollow, Virginia. United States Shenandoah National Park Va. Shenandoah National Park Virginia, 1935. Oct. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2017721587/.