From 1811 until his death, this was the home of Alexander Campbell (1788-1866), founder of Bethany College, and the leading influence in America's largest indigenous religious movement. Campbell, called the "Sage of Bethany," was an educational pioneer, renowned debater, political reformer and philosopher, prolific author, successful businessman, and agricultural leader, and was the leading spokesman for the denomination now known as the Disciples of Christ. Bethany College, which was chartered by the State of Virginia in 1840, embodied Campbell's educational philosophy, which was welded out of his experience at the University of Glasgow, where he was introduced to the leading currents of thought in his day, and his acquaintance with Jefferson's pedagogic principles at the University of Virginia. Campbell's example influenced more than 200 institutions of higher learning and some 200 academies and institutes across America.

Information provided by the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Park Service.