fields-penn 1860 house museum

We visited the Fields Penn House in December of 2014 with our daughter and granddaughter. The house has a number of interesting furnishings. The docent was pleasant and knowledgeable and we enjoyed talking with her. We were able to roam the house at our own pace, which we enjoyed. The house was decorated for the holiday season and the decorations included a "hunt" for the Christmas Elf. Children could search for the Elf as they visited the rooms and tell the docent if and where they found it. The first child to find it each day received a "gift". This was a wonderful way to engage children and our 8 yr. old granddaughter loved it!! She was also the first to find the Elf...which made it even better.

This is a free activity so there can't be any complaints. The historical aspect is great and you can do a self guided tour. It's definitely worth the time to stop in and it's right beside the farmers market so you don't even have to move your car to do both in the same trip.

Stopped by the house/museum and it was wonderfully decorated for the holidays. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about the house and its place in local history. Will try to visit again during the Virginia Highlands Festival in August 2015.

Furnished for the period. A glimpse into life in early Abingdon Virginia. Artifacts from the area are well presented and interesting. Worth the nominal fee.

As an option to the guided tour, there was a handout which described each room in detail. It told the history of the families that had lived there and showed many items from that period.

This was a pleasant stop for my wife on our visit to Abingdon. I am a huge history buff, especially Civil War era history, so this was a perfect stop for us. We were greeted by a lady at the front door who gave us a brief run through of what was to see at the house and allowed us to begin our self-guided tour. Perhaps my favorite part of the house was seeing where one of the daughters had carved her name into the window pane and how that has survived to today. At the end of our tour the lady gave us suggestions as to where to have lunch and dinner and we took her up on her suggestions and were not disappointed. Everybody should swing by the Fields-Penn house while in Abingdon.

I have lived here all my life, and finally decided to visit. I am so glad I did! We were enjoying our anniversary weekend locally, and stopped in during our walk through Abingdon. We were welcomed by the docent, and given an introductory history lesson. We were able to tour at our own pace. We enjoyed the look back in time, and we are proud this is in our back yard so we can visit again and again!

Anything for "free" may be subject to a little scrutiny, so I had to ask the docent why. Abingdon is doing its part to encourage tourism, she explained. With that, and a suggestion to ask her if I had any questions she returned to what she was doing before I walked in and let me take my time looking and thinking about the house and its history. I liked that because I have a tendency to linger in order to mull over the various items on display. I was able to read the explanations related to each room and look at the furnishings piece by piece. Thank you Abingdon.

This is one of the better maintained historic homes I have seen in recent years. Yes it is a self guided tour, but there is a very knowledgeable volunteer on site and she was more than willing to answer questions. There is a very nice sheet, giving descriptions about each room and personally, I like to go at my own pace through a house, verses being forced to hear about things I have no interest in or already know. One of the great things is that this museum is free and is full of history.

It is definitely worth popping in to see how two of Abingdon's early families lived. The house is charming; anyone who enjoys history houses will find it worth their while. You might even see a unique feature or two, like the built-in sick room in the parents' bedroom.

A glimpse into Old Abingdon, you don't need much time to check out the house. My daughter says she thinks the music room is haunted, but not scary, just interesting.

Visited at Christmas during the decorating contest for the different rooms. The docent was helpful in answering questions and the home is beautiful. Well worth seeing!

The docent was terrific and shared some tidbits (like the bee palace) that were totally intriguing. Doesn't take long to tour, and it's right "downtown" so worth a visit

Awesome staff. Very cool house to check out when you are in the area. A lot of history in this little town...

There are house museums in other places, but only ONE in Abingdon! This house is a treasure and I certainly hope it stays there forever. I first discovered it at age 16 and fell in love. Donnamarie is a great person to talk with and she has much knowledge about local things; she is a treasure to the town as well. Go to Feilds-Penn!!!