Finding a future for Bedford County's past

FOREST — A Revolutionary War re-enactor and history devotee says he wants to find a future for a part of his property with a link to Bedford County’s past.

Chris Gulluscio, the owner of Ivy Cliff in Forest, said he would like to see preservation guaranteed for a two-story, four-room slave cabin several hundred yards from his home. The estate, which dates back to the 1760s, is located on New London Road several miles from U.S. 460.

“We intend to sell the property,” said Gulluscio, 41. “One of our concerns is when the property does pass to another owner, the cabin will be torn down and lost forever. It would be a shame to lose it.”

Gulluscio, a New York native, often drove by the historic home since moving to the county 15 years ago and wanted to live there. He has owned the 17-acre estate, which at one time consisted of 3,400 acres, for nearly three years.

“I love to restore old houses,” he said. “Eighteenth-century living is where my interest lies.”

The cabin is situated on a stone foundation and can be seen from New London Road in a field below the house that once served as a tobacco farm. It is the last slave house that remains, though a

chimney stands near the driveway as the remnant of a former kitchen that was used by slaves.

A carving is engraved on the floor of an upper room in the cabin, which Gulluscio said appears to form the word “James.” The structure also includes two chimneys and a cellar.

Gulluscio said its significance to history merits preservation he cannot financially afford to give. A historical society, university or some entity dismantling and moving it elsewhere would be preferable, he said.

“It’s probably going to be best somewhere else,” he said of a future use. “I think it’s a matter of time before somebody develops the land down there. It would be awesome for it to remain in the area if we could find a private donor.”

The cabin is not currently listed on a historic register, he said.

The historic house that he, his wife, Laurie, and 1-year-old son live in could possibly be used for a bed and breakfast or reception hall for weddings, he said.

“There are a lot of things somebody could do with this,” he said. “We would love to help the next owners work on this property.”

The brick house is nearly 5,000 square feet with 10 fireplaces, 10-foot ceilings, hardwood floors and large gathering rooms.

Henry Brown, who fought in the Revolutionary War and was a tax collector and sheriff in Bedford County, built it in the 1790s.

Brown’s descendants lived there until it was auctioned in 1923 to the Miles family, who lived there until 2005.

The historical meaning behind the slave cabin may conjure “bad feelings and thoughts” of a period that Gulluscio said some would rather not recall.

“I don’t think we should forget,” he said. “It is still part of our past and you have to preserve the past as reminders.”