Abram's Delight is a historic home located in Winchester, Virginia. Built in 1754, it is the oldest house in the city. It was owned by the Hollingsworth family for almost 200 years and is typical of the Shenandoah Valley architecture of the Scotch-Irish settlers. The property was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register (VLR) in 1972 and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1973. Abram's Delight currently serves as a historic house museum.HistoryIn 1728, Abraham Hollingsworth, grandson of Valentine Hollingsworth, a Quaker immigrant from Ireland, arrived in the Shenandoah Valley and settled in present-day Winchester. He received a land grant of around 1732 from Alexander Ross and Morgan Bryan, though he had to later renegotiate the grant with Lord Fairfax, who owned all the land between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. Some historians believe Hollingsworth was also required to pay local Shawnee members a cow, a calf, and a piece of red cloth for the land. Hollingsworth, considered the founder of Winchester, described his land a "delight to behold." He built a log cabin next to a natural spring and just west of where the current house is located. Although the cabin no longer stands, the cabin's hand-dug well is still visible. Historians believe a wooden stockade once surrounded his home and that he began construction of the present house before his death in 1748. His widow, Ann Robinson, inherited the property but died the following year. Their second son, Isaac, a Quaker minister, inherited the property and made plans for a house that could also serve as a Quaker meeting place. Simon Taylor was chosen to build the home. He had recently completed construction of Springdale for Colonel John Hite, now the oldest house in Frederick County, and the two homes share similar stonework. Quakers held meetings in the Hollingsworth house with men sitting in the parlor and women in the dining room.
