Mary Johnston (1870-1936)

Mary Johnston, a novelist, historian, playwright, suffragist, and social advocate, lived here at Three Hills. Born in Botetourt County, Johnston published 23 novels between 1898 and 1936 and became the first woman to top best-seller lists in the 20th century with To Have and To Hold (1900). She became an early and influential member of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. Later she used her writing as a platform to condemn lynching. As a result of her increasing activism on then-sensitive social issues, her commercial popularity declined. In 1912, Johnston moved here and built Three Hills in a grand Classical Revival style.