Volume 10 , Issue 18

Monterey House Hotel - Virginia

"My wife Martha has genealogical connections to Monterey, Virginia, the county seat of Highland County. We once made a stop there and researched her family?s records in the court house and library there. We had previously done the same in bordering Pendleton County, West Virginia. To the left is a photo of the Monterey House Hotel.

Monterey has the highest elevation of any town east of the Rocky Mountains, at 2894 feet. It has a population of less than 200. Actually, it was formed in 1847 from Pendleton County. The latter was formed from Augusta and other counties in 1788. Later, even though they were once part of the same county, Highland went with the Confederacy when the Civil War broke out, and Pendleton went with the Union. This resulted in the two counties being in different states after the war.

This is one of the most beautiful and charming areas we ever visited in the east. Highland is the least populated counties of the state. However, the annual Maple Festival draws 50,000 people each spring. There are also several hotels; including the Monterey House which is an Eastlake styled structure over a hundred years old.

The surnames we were researching were BIRD and COOK?the latter no relation to mine. We were traveling in an RV and used the parking lot of the local bank, and parked there over night. In the early days the local government and court operated in an inn owned by Martha?s ancestor. We knew what street it had been on and could not find the street. Someone in the library told us that the streets? names had been changed. She then pointed out where the inn would have been located?where the bank?s parking lot is presently. Yes, we had spent the night where the inn had been located, without even knowing it. Genealogy is fun." -- Charles M. Cook
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