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LIFE
Don McMillian: Huntington sits on old Beuhring plantation
Maple Grove Plantation
Major Nathaniel Scales was the father-in-law of William Buffington, James Russell and Bishop Thomas A. Morris, early settlers of Guyandotte. Scales received his land from The Savage Land Grant for serving as an officer in the French and Indian War.
In 1837, the Beuhring family purchased the impressive Scales plantation facing the Ohio River. Frederick George Lewis Beuhring, 1791-1859, came from Germany in 1805 at the age of 14. He fought in the War of 1812, defending Baltimore and later joined the import firm of Koeing & Company. Frederick married the niece of Koeing, Francis Eleanor Dannenberg. Frederick and Francis were well-educated and their patrician upbringing reflected a taste for the fine arts and the refinements and comforts of a socially-prominent life.
The Beuhrings lived for a short period in Barboursville before purchasing Maple Grove Plantation in 1837. Maple Grove Plantation was located between 7th and 11th streets along the Ohio River. The classical and impressive two-story Federal-style, red brick structure once had a two-story Ionic column porch in the Greek style. The Beuhring plantation extended from the Ohio River to the foothills of Ritter Park.
Today, the city of Huntington sits on what was once the Beurhing plantation.
From 1869 to 1872, this classical-style home was used by Collis P. Huntington as offices for the new Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. The upstairs of the structure was one of the first Western Union offices. Today, the log cabin that sits in Ritter Park and is the headquarters for the Daughters of the American Revolution was once home of the keeper of the Beuhring Vineyards. The Maple Grove Mansion was destroyed by fire around 1880.
Dr. James H. Hysell, Wilson, Garrett Home
Located at 302 Main St., this three-story frame structure featuring a hip and tiled roof with projections along the ridges and gables and a Palladian window in the lower dormer was built by James H. Hysell in 1840-1841.
Hysell was on the board of Supervisors of Marshall College in 1867. Two tall-banded chimneys straddle the peak and a series of paired wooden brackets are visible under the eaves. The rusticated stone porch has a series of paired ionic columns. Wide panels and a transom flank the front door. Asphalt shingling covers the original wood structure.
Major alterations occurred around 1910 by William Henry Wilson who married Hysell's daughter, Anne. Massive alterations to the Queen Anne structure were made by applying the shingle covering. The original roof is said to still be intact under the complex tile hip roof visible today.
A guest house in the same style as the main house exists at the rear of the main structure on 5th Avenue. Later the Wilson's daughter, Betty Wilson married into the Garrett family.
Huntington resident Don McMillian spent 14 years researching the historic architecture and families in Cabell County before writing his book "On The Threshold of Splendor: Historic Homes and Families." It's available on Amazon .com, Empire Books and News and Richard's Hallmark Stores.
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