The Hollow

The Hollow is a colonial-era house near Markham, Virginia, built on a fieldstone foundation with a three-bay wooden frame structure. The simple construction demonstrates the building methods and materials available during the early settlement period in this area.

Colonel Thomas Marshall, a member of the House of Burgesses and county sheriff, built this house in 1763 for his family, including his son John Marshall who later became a prominent legal figure. The construction marked one of the earliest residential buildings in what would become a settled region.

The house displays features of early American frontier building practices and how settlers constructed homes to match the demands of colonial life. Its simple frame design shows the practical approach people took when building in this remote region.

The site sits on a large property surrounded by rural roads and fields in a relatively remote setting. Visiting on foot allows the best approach to understand how the building fits within its natural landscape.

Tree ring analysis of the building's wood confirms the timber was harvested between 1763 and 1764, providing precise scientific dating of the structure. This type of analysis rarely offers such clear confirmation for colonial-era houses.