1890 Appalachian author's 20-room home in Big Stone Gap — reports of translucent figures in period dress
118 Shawnee Ave E, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Admission charged; see website for current rates and seasonal hours.
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story home; stairs required for upper floor
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1890 · National Register of Historic Places (1974) · Residence and Writing Location of John Fox Jr. · Appalachian Literary History · First American Novel to Sell One Million Copies
John Fox Jr. was born in Stony Point, Kentucky in 1862 and came to Big Stone Gap in 1890, following his two older brothers who had invested in coal and iron mining options during the town's brief boom period. The original section of the house was built around 1890 as a four-room cottage for the Fox brothers. Over the following decades John Fox Jr. — who emerged as the dominant occupant and the one who would make the property famous — expanded the structure into a two-story, 20-room dwelling.
Fox wrote his two most celebrated novels in the house: The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1903) and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1908). The latter became the first American novel to sell one million copies and was dedicated to his wife, the Austrian opera singer Fritzi Scheff, whom Fox had met while the novel was being adapted for Broadway. Fox died in the house on July 8, 1919.
The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 (NRHP ref. no. 74002151). It opened as a public museum in 1970 and operates under the auspices of the Big Stone Gap area historical community. The house retains period furnishings, photographs, and manuscript materials associated with Fox's writing career.
Sources
Paranormal accounts from the John Fox Jr. Museum describe figures in period clothing that appear partially translucent, seen both inside the house and on the grounds surrounding it. These accounts characterize the presences as having a hostile or agitated quality — described by some witnesses as 'very angry spirits' — though no specific incident, identity, or historical event is attached to this characterization in any of the sources encountered.
A woman in white is also reported at the Fox house, separate from the similar tradition at the June Tolliver House nearby. Shadowy unidentified figures are mentioned in multiple accounts of the grounds.
The museum does not commercially exploit these legends, and no paranormal events or overnight investigations appear to have been organized at the property. The ghost accounts derive primarily from visitor and staff reports compiled by regional paranormal enthusiasts.
Tour the 20-room home where John Fox Jr. lived and wrote from 1890 until his death in 1919. The original four-room cottage grew into a two-story residence where Fox produced The Trail of the Lonesome Pine and The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come, two of America's bestselling Appalachian novels of the early twentieth century.
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