One of Christiansburg’s most historic structures has been taken down by a construction crew. Tuesday, the cleanup started along Depot Street at the former Campbell House.
The home has set empty for over 10 years, and the town had listed it on dilapidated and abandoned structures list. But the problem was finding any living members of the Campbell family.
The residence at 375 Depot Street dates back to 1921 when Fannie Mae Campbell bought the land. She and her husband drew up the plans and built it over a two-year period. Documented history shows the couple raised 10 children in the home.
It was used as a hospital from the 20s through the 40s when African American patients would be taken to a local hospital and then transferred to the Campbell House for follow up care.
In early 2017, the structure has a letter from building officials stapled to its front porch, with the owners listed as having a Richmond address.
Over the years, the 14-room Campbell house also included a restaurant and dance hall called “Campbell’s Dine and Dance.” A beauty salon and barbershop were also located there. The area in and around the residence became known as “Campbell town.”
The home would suffer heavy fire damage in the early 40s, but Fannie Mae Campbell rebuilt the structure even bigger. She would then start renting rooms to individuals.
The home started falling into disrepair in the 90s, and documents show the town had considered condemning the structure in 2008 but did not.
Town staff recommended the owner tear down the home as building officials did not consider the structure to be safe enough for someone to live in it.
Christiansburg has taken a proactive, aggressive approach to eliminate dilapidated structures including those like the Campbell House.
Scattered throughout the area are abandoned homes that are falling in ruin. They’re eyesores local leaders hope to remove to make neighborhoods more attractive.
For the past year, the town had pushed legal representatives from the family to sale the home or tear it down. Apparently, the Campbell descendants have sold the home, thus allowing it to be torn down this week.
The new owners nor their future plans for the empty lot are not known.
