Lucy Herndon Crockett (April 4, 1914 – July 30, 2002) was an American novelist and artist who illustrated her own books
The Magnificent Bastards(1953), her best-known book, was about her experiences with the U.S. Marine Corps, while Popcorn on the Ginza (1949) was about her time in occupied Japan.[1] The Magnificent Bastards was made into a 1956 film starring William Holden and Deborah Kerr under the title The Proud and Profane.[
Situated on the bank of the Middle Fork of the Holston River in Seven Mile Ford is the John Montgomery Preston House. This was the home that Lucy Crockett lovingly called “Herondon.” Within its walls, she created art, wrote books, displayed collections from her world travels and operated the Wilderness Road Trading Post. One newspaper columnist who traveled from New York City to interview Lucy gave the following description of Herondon: “Down here, in Lucy Crockett’s beautiful and historic old Virginia home some 600 miles from New York, the ceilings are 15 feet high, the windows long and wide, the great halls run through from front to back, birds in hundreds sing in the ancient trees, the river runs quiet and serene over the flat stones….
“Inside the big house, huge hand-carved wooden fish from Melanesia float in the gentle airs of the house. Porcelains of the world lie on long shelves.”
A detailed history of the home is found in the National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, which was prepared in 1969. “The house was built in 1842 by John Montgomery Preston on land his wife, Maria Thornton Carter Preston (died 1842), inherited from her father, General Francis Preston. The property had come into the possession of this branch of the Preston family through the marriage of General Preston to Sarah Buchanan Campbell, the daughter of General William Campbell, Revolutionary War soldier and hero of the Battle of King’s Mountain. General Campbell had inherited the property from his father Charles Campbell
For some years prior to the building of the present house, a log tavern had stood on the site. This hostelry had quite a dubious reputation in the area as the innkeeper was believed to take advantage of the unwary, even going to the extreme of robbing and murdering the unprotected.”
A more comprehensive discussion of this history is found in Smyth County History and Traditions, written by Goodridge Wilson. “Of this old log tavern, gruesome stories are told. It was on the wild and lonely wilderness road which emigrants to the western country were constantly passing, their money carried in money belts or saddle bags. Along here, too, droves of cattle, hogs, horses and mules were driven from the western counties, from Tennessee and from Kentucky to eastern markets and the owners came back with money instead of stock. Many a traveler with money about him is said to have stopped for lodging in that tavern, to have mysteriously disappeared in the night, and never to have been seen or heard of more. Servants and poor folk about the neighborhood whispered of stumbling on weird midnight grave diggings up certain wooded hollows where ghosts are reputed to walk until this day. Whatever truth may have been in these old tales of horror, it is certain that in 1892 a small cave was discovered not far away in which were found twenty-one skeletons. One was that of a woman with a child in her arms. A doctor examined them and declared they were bones of white men and their probable age corresponded with that of the old log tavern.”
The ghosts of the innkeeper’s victims are not the only ghosts spoken of in relation to this property. Wilson goes on to tell of the home’s Civil War history. “Stoneman came through Southwest Virginia on his famous raid. His troops took possession of the premises. They hacked beef on the mahogany tables, stabled their horses in the halls and first floor rooms, and generally messed up the place.”
A more comprehensive discussion of this history is found in Smyth County History and Traditions, written by Goodridge Wilson. “Of this old log tavern, gruesome stories are told. It was on the wild and lonely wilderness road which emigrants to the western country were constantly passing, their money carried in money belts or saddle bags. Along here, too, droves of cattle, hogs, horses and mules were driven from the western counties, from Tennessee and from Kentucky to eastern markets and the owners came back with money instead of stock. Many a traveler with money about him is said to have stopped for lodging in that tavern, to have mysteriously disappeared in the night, and never to have been seen or heard of more. Servants and poor folk about the neighborhood whispered of stumbling on weird midnight grave diggings up certain wooded hollows where ghosts are reputed to walk until this day. Whatever truth may have been in these old tales of horror, it is certain that in 1892 a small cave was discovered not far away in which were found twenty-one skeletons. One was that of a woman with a child in her arms. A doctor examined them and declared they were bones of white men and their probable age corresponded with that of the old log tavern.”
The ghosts of the innkeeper’s victims are not the only ghosts spoken of in relation to this property. Wilson goes on to tell of the home’s Civil War history. “Stoneman came through Southwest Virginia on his famous raid. His troops took possession of the premises. They hacked beef on the mahogany tables, stabled their horses in the halls and first floor rooms, and generally messed up the place.”
Lucy Crockett related the following stories to a newspaper columnist: “An unshaven, disgruntled Union Army ghost wanders the rooms. Stoneman’s men took over the house—burned the furniture and stabled their horses in the dining room. A Virginian, hiding in the cellar, chalked up a mark for his side by taking the head off a Union soldier who had stumbled down there for a jug of consolation. His is the aggrieved ghost who occasionally wanders the halls. Possibly still looking for his jug, he carries his head under his right arm.
“In the upper reaches of this old house on quiet nights there seems to be a contest between two other ghosts—rippers. No one ever has seen these, but they are heard. One, possibly a carpenter, rips furiously into wood with a saw, and when he stops, the other rips pieces of cloth apart. The ripping contest seems always to end in a draw.”
The Preston Home was also the repository for a collection of old documents, which gave a unique glimpse into the history of our area. Some of these papers were sold to the Library of Congress. They included “original letters written and signed by General William Campbell, Colonel Arthur Campbell, Colonel William Preston, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, the Floyds, and many others from pioneer days down to the War between the States.”
“In the upper reaches of this old house on quiet nights there seems to be a contest between two other ghosts—rippers. No one ever has seen these, but they are heard. One, possibly a carpenter, rips furiously into wood with a saw, and when he stops, the other rips pieces of cloth apart. The ripping contest seems always to end in a draw.”
The Preston Home was also the repository for a collection of old documents, which gave a unique glimpse into the history of our area. Some of these papers were sold to the Library of Congress. They included “original letters written and signed by General William Campbell, Colonel Arthur Campbell, Colonel William Preston, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, the Floyds, and many others from pioneer days down to the War between the States.”