Webster (community), WV was an important depot for both troops and supplies. Route 250 - which runs in front of the house - connected the two biggest cities in what was then the state of Virginia. This "Back Door to the South" was strategic to both sides: to the Union as an entryway to the south and to the Confederacy for invasion of the North.

General George B. McClellan used it as his headquarters. His troops were encamped throughout the community and the park. There were approximately 10,000 troops encamped during the four years of the Civil War.