By Matt de Simone
Glencoe, located at 1088 Poor Farm Road in Fincastle, was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The name “Glencoe” was inspired by a main settlement in the Scottish Highlands.
James Madison Spiller, a Buckingham County native, purchased the land Glencoe was built on in 1857. Spiller was a contractor and lock builder for Cabell Lock and Dam and would often move around as he completed projects on the James River and Kanawha Canal.
The two-story brick home, originally completed in 1871-71, is owned by George Sydnor III. Some of the interesting features of the house are a dry moat featuring stone retaining walls that circle around the front to the south end of the home, a full stone basement, fireplaces in nearly every room, and a one-story side wing.
A brick smokehouse, two corncribs, and a couple of outbuildings that include a stable and a wellhouse behind the home. The front yard is formed by a stone retaining wall that extends from the dry moat surrounding the home.
According to a 1958 Historic American Building Survey (HABS) form completed by Betsy Speer, she described that Glencoe’s construction began “before the Civil War and finished after the war. It once served as a private school. Local residents attribute the moat to the eccentricity of the builder.”
The estate became a part of the Virginia Landmarks Register in December of 2020. For more information on Glencoe and more of Virginia’s historical landmarks, visit dhr.virginia.gov.
