Patsy Cline Historic House

The late singer lived in this historic house for several years with her mom and her siblings.

The museum is set up with period furniture, and there is some from the original home, including an end table and a lamp that Patsy picked out and bought herself. There is a radio, a rotary phone, and photos of Patsy as a child, including many from when she was growing up. Her mother, Hilda, moved to this home with her three children after her parents separated. The home had one bedroom, and they all slept in that room. Hilda was a seamstress and made Patsy's costumes. Patsy would draw pictures of the costumes she wanted, and some of her original designs with handwritten notes are also in the house. Some clothing worn by Pasty is lying on her bed, and an upright, white piano like the one Patsy would practice on is in the front room. The home was built pre-Civil War in the 1850s, and it was a log cabin with an outhouse in the back. During renovations, a large piece of the wallboard that covered the logs is now displayed behind plexiglass to show visitors what it looked like when Patsy lived there. All of the wooden floorboards are original.

Born Virginia Patterson Hensley, Patsy Cline left this family home when she married her first husband, Gerald Cline, at age 21. Unfortunately, she divorced her first husband but kept the last name of Cline. As a teen, Patsy was called Ginny, short for Virginia. To help support the family, Ginny left school at 16 and worked at a mom-and-pop drugstore called Gaunt's. Gaunt's was a hangout for working-class teens. Ginny was known for her vanilla cokes, root beer frosties, and her chocolate uniques, which were the names of the drinks at the drugstore. The museum has a few items from the drugstore: an ice cream scoop, a cola glass, a holder for soda, and a banana split holder. She later began to sing, and when gospel singer Wally Fowler heard her sing, he was so impressed that he offered her a job.

Patsy's second husband, Charlie Dick, lived in Winchester and mentioned in the early 2000s that the house and the neighborhood had not changed since Patsy lived there. About $100,000 was spent to renovate the old home into a museum with central heating and air conditioning. It has been open since 2011. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021. The museum is open from 1 pm to 4 pm. They offer guided tours, which take about 45 minutes.