Battlefield association completes restorations on witness house

KERNSTOWN, Va. (WDVM) — After months of restoration work, a witness house on the Kernstown Battlefield is one step closer to being in its original condition.

The restoration of the Pritchard House porch cost over $60,000 for the Kernstown Battlefield Association and was handled by Vintage Restorations in Winchester.

The house, which was built in 1854, survived both of the Battles of Kernstown but 165 years later, much of the porch needed to be updated, both for aesthetic and safety reasons. However, members of the Association say they were able to salvage the original walnut columns from the 1850’s.

“We’ve tried to replicate it to what the photo showed in 1890 so the steps with the stone steps down in front,” said Scott Gregory, the President of Kernstown Battlefield Association, gesturing toward the porch’s staircase. “It’s all been trying to get back to what the original look was.”

Gregory says there is still plenty of work to do on the house moving forward, but it will have to wait until the Association receives more funding to complete the work.