Woodburn

Woodburn (2006) courtesy Dr. Steven Mark

The beautiful home now known as Woodburn sits on land acquired by John Beattie in 1783. The original tract included over 2,000 acres and ran from Emory east to Glade Spring. John deeded the eastern most acreage to his son David in 1786. Through inheritance and other transactions David's son, also a David, eventually owned 335 acres of his grandfather’s original tract. In 1843, as he and his wife Nancy Clark prepared to leave for Missouri, David sold the land to his cousin William B. Byars for $5,000.

William was the son of another prominent early landowner, Col. William Byars, who had married Elizabeth Beattie, a granddaughter of the previously mentioned John Beattie. Col. Byars lived in a beautiful home, Brook Hall, and built homes for several of his children, including Cave Springs for his son John. It is generally held that in the mid 1850s Col. Byars built Woodburn for his son William. The Colonel’s 1858 will released the younger man from at least $10,000 in debts owed him, which may have reflected a loan for the purchase of the land and/or the cost of building the home.

circa 1937 - courtesy of The Library of Virginia

The large brick home sits as the eastern end of what is now the community of Glade Spring. Built by John Ragsdale, it is 2 ½ stories tall, includes a basement and has 14 inch walls. The home is noted for its larger than typical windows - many having 16 panes rather than the usual twelve. It is also somewhat unusual in that it has more hall space than most homes of the period; the front door opens to a large center hall where a graceful mahogany-finished-curved stairway winds to the upper floor. French doors from the hallway lead to a parlor and to the back of the home. There are 13 large rooms graced by oak floors with 10 foot ceilings and large painted mantels. The home originally had a long front porch and a separate small structure in the back to house a kitchen (now attached). The property also included several smaller structures, including a springhouse and a smokehouse. The home and land was cared for by a large number of slaves.

William Byars married Sarah Taylor in 1842; the couple did not have children. However, they adopted William Byars Cobbs, the son of Sarah's niece Louisa Taylor who herself grew up in the home. Louisa married Capt. Thomas Cobbs in 1864. Louisa died a few years later but Thomas remained at Woodburn and helped run the estate. He also married Louisa's older sister Sarah. William Byars 1887 will left his entire estate, including Woodburn, to his adopted son William Byars Cobbs. William Cobbs died in 1897 but his wife Augusta and daughter Marion lived in the home for some years. In 1920 Woodburn passed out of the Cobbs family when it was purchased by Mr. Samuel W. Keys, who was a banker in Glade Spring. At that time 40 acres of land still framed the house, and the property included a barn and other buildings. The home passed through several hands following the death of Mr. Keys in 1934. It is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Tracy Cooley.

Woodburn (2006) courtesy Dr Steven Mark

Like many of the old homes in the county, Woodburn has a unique story to tell. It seems that during the Civil War, probably in 1865, either Mr. Byars or Mr. Cobbs decided to convert some of Mr. Byars wealth into tobacco as a hedge against the rapidly devaluating Confederate currency. Fifteen cases of tobacco, 1,500 pounds in all, were hidden in a walled-in basement space below the front part of the house which had no visible means of access. Mrs. Byars, who had a reputation as a stern taskmaster, ordered her slaves to hide the family silver in the garden; additional quantities of tobacco were hidden in the attic. The silver was later recovered by the family, and the attic held tobacco was discovered when a storm blew off part of the roof in 1904. However, the home passed out of the Byars/Cobbs family without the secret stash in the basement coming to light. The story of its discovery was related by Mr. Keys in a 1928 article for the Norfolk and Western Magazine.

Related Maps

Newspaper article on Woodburn's hidden treasure