Few places in the nation can boast of a community heritage as rich, deep, and varied as that of Staunton and Augusta County. Augusta County once stretched to the Mississippi River – entire states were carved from her boundaries. For the better part of three centuries, Staunton has served both as the county seat and a community crossroads, hosting those settlers who came to stay and offering temporary refuge for those passing through. Over the years a number of artisans and artists have been woven into the fabric of the area culture: John Sheets, the riflemaker; Caleb Bingham, the painter; Grandma Moses, the folk artist; and T. J. Collins, the architect. Of these, Collins was one who stayed and left his signature on the local landscape through the more than one thousand public and private buildings designed by his firm including the 1895 Eakleton Hotel which will house the R. R. Smith Center for History and Art.