Patsy Cline House facts for kids
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Patsy Cline Historic House
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 Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | 608 S. Kent St., Winchester, Virginia |
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| Area | 0.2 acres (0.081 ha) |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 05001230 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | November 8, 2005 |
The Patsy Cline Historic House is a special place in Winchester, Virginia. From 1948 to 1953, this house was home to Virginia Patterson Hensley. She later became the famous country music star known as Patsy Cline.
Patsy lived here during her teenage years and early twenties. She moved out when she married at age 21. However, she still visited the house sometimes after that. This house is so important that it was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. It was also named a National Historic Landmark in 2021. This means it's a very important historical site!
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Patsy Cline's Early Life at Home
Patsy Cline's mother, Hilda Hensley, moved into this small house with her three children. This was after she separated from her husband. Hilda worked hard as a seamstress to support her family. At first, they rented the house, but later, Patsy's mother was able to buy it.
To help her family, Patsy left school when she was just 16 years old. She took jobs like being a waitress and a soda jerk. Soon after, she started singing. Her first time singing on the radio was on "Joltin' Jim McCoy's" Sunday morning show. This show was on radio station WINC in Winchester. Her mother even sewed Patsy's first stage costumes right there in the house!
How Patsy's Career Started
A famous gospel singer named Wally Fowler heard Patsy sing. He was very impressed by her amazing voice. Wally Fowler led a group called the Oak Ridge Quartet. He came to the house to try and help Patsy start her professional singing career. This was a big step for her!
About the Historic House
The Patsy Cline Historic House is a simple, two-story building. It has a front porch and a tin roof. The house is about 1,000 square feet (93 m2) in size. It was originally built as a log cabin in the mid-1800s. Most of the logs are now covered by walls. However, you can still see a small part of the original logs near the front door. This part is covered by Plexiglas to protect it.
The House as a Museum
Patsy's second husband, Charlie Dick, lived in Winchester. In the early 2000s, he said that the house and the neighborhood still looked much the same as when Patsy lived there. Today, the house is owned by a non-profit group called Celebrating Patsy Cline, Inc.. This group spent about $100,000 to fix up the house. They turned it into a museum for everyone to visit.
The renovations included adding modern things like central heating and air conditioning. The museum officially opened its doors in 2011. It helps people learn about Patsy Cline's early life and her journey to becoming a music legend.
Patsy Cline is buried a few miles south of the house. Her resting place is in Shenandoah Memorial Park.
