McDonald structure one of oldest homes in Botetourt may be moved to Greenfield

One of Botetourt County’s oldest remaining structures may be moved to Greenfield.

The Board of Supervisors at its July 31, 2023 meeting agreed to a proposal to allow a historic structures consultant with over 50 years experience to look at the Bryan McDonald, Sr. home for the purpose of possibility relocating it. The structure is currently on Roanoke Cement/Titan America property, Assistant County Administrator Jon Lanford told the Board.

The consultant also would look at the structures already at Greenfield and evaluate them for structural integrity, paying special attention to the chimneys, which need extensive repairs.

The total cost of the review for all structures is estimated at $27,925 and would be paid for with funding already in the budgets for the Historic Greenfield Preservation Advisory Council and the Citizen Commission for Preservation of Historic Properties.

Bryan McDonald, Sr. located to Botetourt County in 1745, prior to most other land grants, and settled at the headwaters of Tinker Creek in what is now known as the Mount Union area off of Catawba Road. There he built a two-story log structure that remains standing. According to information in The Seedbed of the Republic, the house has a stone foundation that extends “up to form the walls of the ground floor, over which was built the log house.” The home also had a porch across its entire length, along with huge chimneys at either end. The McDonalds were among the first settlers of central Botetourt. Bryan McDonald, Sr. died in 1757, and this home is thought to be one of the oldest standing structures in the county.

The structures already at Greenfield are an historic kitchen and quarters for enslaved persons, and are unique to the area in that not many such structures remain. The county has long-range plans for an historic learning area at the Botetourt Center at Greenfield, but the structures must be repaired and stabilized before they can be opened to the public.

                                                                                                         — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee