Shelton-Smith House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Shelton-Smith House in Montgomery County. Now settle in, because this one's got layers, like the house itself. A part of this place may have existed as early as 1855, when the site and its improvements were sold to a man named John E.

Shelton. And Shelton was no ordinary buyer. He was a master craftsman, the kind of builder who had already put up fine houses across the county before 1860.

So when Shelton turned his attention to this particular piece of ground, he knew exactly what he was doing. Around 1858, he built the main portion of the house, not for himself, but for his friend and business partner, Thomas Wesley Smith. Now there's a name worth remembering.

Smith, born in 1829, would go on to become a leading cigar manufacturer in Montgomery County before he passed in 1902. The man built something of a legacy in more ways than one, because he and his heirs held onto that house all the way until 1924. Somewhere in there, a granddaughter left her own mark on the place, adding dormers in a 1922 remodeling.

A quiet touch, but it changed the roofline, changed the light inside, changed the whole character of the thing. Then came the Thomas A. Gay family, who owned it from 1924 all the way to 1970.

And by 1976, when the marker was set down in the record, Mr. and Mrs. K. M.

Whisenant were the ones preserving it. A craftsman built it for a friend. A granddaughter shaped it.

Families held it close across generations. That's the Shelton-Smith House, still standing in Montgomery County, carrying every one of those years inside its walls.

What the marker says

A part of this house may have existed as early as 1855, when site and improvements were sold to John E. Shelton. He was a master craftsman who built other fine houses prior to 1860. Shelton built the main portion about 1858 for his friend and business partner, Thomas Wesley Smith (1829-1902), who later was a leading cigar manufacturer in this county. Smith and his heirs owned the house until 1924. A granddaughter added the dormers in a 1922 remodeling. The 1924-1970 owners were the Thomas A. Gay family. Mr. and Mrs. K. M. Whisenant now (1976) preserve it.