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NEWS - NOTESThe Newsletter of the Rockbridge Historical Society

May 2015

RHS will present its next program on Monday, June 8, at Lexington’s historic First Baptist Church. Light refreshments will be offered at 6:30 p.m. followed by a talk, “Rockbridge in Liberia: the Colonization Movement in Rockbridge, 1830s to 1860s.” This local and international survey will center on the formerly enslaved Othello Richards, who purchased his freedom in Rockbridge before becoming an early emissary to Liberia (see map on page 5), as well as the significance of the Richards family, both in Liberia and on their return to America after l980. The speaker will be Dr. Neely Young, who holds a B.A. in History from W&L as well as masters and doctoral degrees from Emory University in Atlanta. A board member of the Rockbridge Historical Society, Dr. Young has taught at the Collegiate School in Richmond as well as several colleges in Georgia, and was founding Headmaster at St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Atlanta, a position he held for 12 years. He was active in civic organizations in Atlanta and is similarly involved since returning to Rockbridge County. He authored "Ripe for Emancipation," a book examining the antislavery movement in Rockbridge and the South before the Civil War. He is now at work on a book chronicling the two-century history of one African-American family, "Transatlantic Sojourners: The Richards/Colemen Family of Africa and America.” This will be an exciting and informative evening, open to the public at no charge. Please note that there is no handicapped accessible restroom at the venue.

Program at a GlanceTopic: Rockbridge in Liberia

Date: Monday, June 8

Place: First Baptist Church! ! 130 N. Main St., Lexington

Times: Reception 6:30 p.m.

Program 7:30 p.m.

June ProgramRockbridge in Liberia: the 19th Century Colonization Movement

Two initiatives took RHS along new roads last month, exploring with schoolchildren and adult audiences the experiences of early Valley settlers and explorers.On April 3, Eric Wilson and Mary Harvey-Halsey took the replica Lewis and Clark trunk to Buena Vista to support student projects on ‘pioneer journeys’ for Laura Crowder’s fifth-grade social studies classes at Parry McCluer Middle

School. With guidance from Laura and her interdisciplinary team, the projects incorporated scientific observation, mathematical mapping, and creative journal writing. Students were able to handle, discuss, and ponder the trunk’s stock of animal hides, period tools, strange foods, unsettling medicines, and a recently donated replica of an 18th-century flintlock musket. The thank-you letters that students later sent were sincere, specific, and demonstrated how curiosities can be fueled by this rare, tactile, educational instrument. Eric Wilson noted that the trunk has now reached elementary, middle, and high school classrooms in Buena Vista, Lexington, and Rockbridge, but "We’re eager to

Pioneering pathways: schools and Natural Bridge

See Pioneering pathways, Page 3

Mary Harvey-Halseth shows pioneer artifacts to fifth-graders at Parry McCluer Middle School. Photo by Kit Huffman.

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Good anniversaries often bring the next good questions: How did we get here? What do we remember most warmly? And perhaps most purposefully: What next?

Even as our Society now steps beyond its 75-year footprint, Rockbridge County, the Commonwealth, and the country at large are repositioning ourselves after five years commemorating the Civil War through its sequences of 150 years ago (not to mention five years of struggling to pronounce the word “sesquicentennial”). I recently met with a UVA Professor, one of the principal organizers of the Virginia Civil War 150 Commission, to discuss ways in which grants from their History Department might support graduate and undergraduate research tied to RHS archives and our programs. As we discussed various possibilities – including examination of the civic impact of Lee’s arrival in Lexington, with its own landmark anniversary coming this fall – she wryly noted: “Let’s get together again when the Sesqui Dust settles.”

“Sesqui Dust.” A charming phrase, one that at once invokes some fairy glow of historical memory, and yet also a challenge not to merely sit in the dust, but to purposefully move forward in the wake of the memorable spotlights. So what next, as America slides from Lee and Lincoln and new terrains of Reconstruction’s anniversaries, both local and national? Where do we go from here, looking forward and looking back, as our Society should be ever eager to do? What should RHS want its own “Sesqui Dust” to look like, come that benchmark in another 75 years?

New pathways already beckon, with two unique prospects extending the reach of our recent March program. We continue to collaborate with Special Collections and with Society member and WLU Professor Stephan Fafatas to both preserve and research a remarkable 1796 ledger from the Caruthers store on Main Street, recording business affairs just on the heels of Lexington’s revolutionary founding. Additionally, we look forward to reviewing and interpreting a cache of 1930s account-books from the R.E. Lee Hotel and gas station, recently donated by a local family, whose schoolchildren have benefitted from our work in schools this past year. Whether examining the long roll of muskets and bayonets that Caruthers gave to the local Light Infantry that year, or the reckonings of the filling-station’s receipts for oil and Coca-Cola– not to mention the major shareholder statements kept during Norville O. Moses’ management of the Hotel through the grip of the Depression – these opportunities reflect a revitalized attention to our collections, and new spirit for programs and events, sociable and varied as we hope them to be.

RHS’ legacy of Publications and Educational Outreach keeps moving towards new horizons as well. We’re asking how we can best share our stories in a changing landscape, whether those of contemporary museums, or the wider reach of the digital humanities. We also seek new opportunities in joining our resources with local partners and the broader umbrellas provided by the Virginia Association of Museums, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the American Association for State and Local History. If those are conversations that interest you, we hope you’ll contact and join us. Member participation in our committees is vital to the effectiveness, and the institutional integrity, of our mission. We need your vision and your talents.

At our Anniversary Gala in November, I spoke about the Society's founding and its continued need for "Citizen Stewards," following in the footprints of Dr. Edmund Pendleton Tompkins: Rockbridge physician and author, born in the immediate shadow of the Civil War into the church of Rector and General William N. Pendleton, and General and Mrs. Lee. In 1939, Dr. Tompkins became the Society's founding librarian, and he played a crucial role in grounding our gifts to the community through collections, programs, and publications: three key planks of our mission today, along with educating our next generations of Rockbridge citizens.

You'll see that this newsletter features some of the Society's newest ‘Citizen Stewards,’ board members and volunteers alike. Each brings his or her own distinct skill-sets and passions to serve Rockbridge in the best, collaborative ways an authentic community organization can.

We hope you'll help follow in those footsteps, both to examine and productively unearth the dust on our local ground, and to help chart new pathways ahead.

-- Eric Wilson

Executive Director’s Letter: ‘Sesqui Dust’… or What Next?

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extend our programming and impact into more schools, and through different content areas including science, math, and art, as well as history and English."On April 18-19, RHS was one of three regional historical societies invited to share its historic materials and institutional mission during the Living History Weekend at Natural Bridge on the theme “Follow the Great Road.” With a range of its publications and early maps, RHS reached a broader audience with the Discovery Trunk, other images and items related to Lewis and Clark’s travels up and down the Valley's Great Wagon Road. Among those journeys was Clark’s 1809 passage through Natural Bridge with an overnight stay on Lexington’s Main Street en route to see Jefferson at Monticello, a trip that RHS and partners commemorated in 2013, thus joining the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and Eastern Legacy. Though the weekend’s rains shortened the encampments of the living history interpreters – tinsmiths and flax-spinners, pioneer peddlers and Monacan traders – a number of RHS volunteers and board members enjoyed engaging conversations (instructive, too) with visitors who brought their own curiosities, family histories and expertise. With plans for the event to repeat in future years, we hope our members will join us on a future journey down that Great Road to the Bridge.

Pioneering pathways Continued from Page 1

Eric Wilson explains the Lewis and Clark journey and trunk at Natural Bridge.” Photo by Marian Novak

Returning board memberSeth McCormick-Goodhart

Seth was born in Lexington and attended public schools here before earning a B.A. in History from Hampden-Sydney College in 1996. For the next 15 years and between worldwide travels, he taught middle and high

school, apprenticed with a local log cabin restorer and a cabinet maker in Lexington, and was head coach of the RCHS boys lacrosse team, all while enjoying good reads in history. Seth's growing interest in historical documents, rare books and photographs came in part from his parents’ interest in art and local antiques, together with family

genealogies that include the McCormick, Hamilton and Bonday families. He and his wife, Jen, restored the old Womeldorf House on Old Buena Vista Road, where they live with their children, Eleanor, Ruby and Theo, and a St. Bernard dog. Five years ago, Seth began work at the Marshall Museum and his studies for a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science. He served for two years on the RHS Board as Librarian and Curator. Three years ago, he joined the staff of Washington and Lee's Special Collections and says he is glad to work again on behalf of the RHS.

Volunteer profileElizabeth Barry Brown

One of RHS’ most consistent volunteers and avid genealogists, Barry Brown notes: “Anytime I can help someone trace an ancestor who helped settle the Valley, I feel we are paying tribute to those who endured so much and labored so hard, that we may now live in one of the most beautiful places in this country.”Barry grew up in Giles County in southwestern Virginia. During her high school years at Stuart Hall in Staunton, she learned from elderly cousins of her ancestral ties to Augusta County. She earned her B.S. in Biology at Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC, and later worked in the Microbiology Department at UVA Medical School.

In 1974, Barry and her husband, Clark Brown, moved to Fort Defiance, where Barry pursued her interest in the history of Augus ta County and the founding of Augusta Stone Presbyterian Church by her pioneer ancestors. Beginning wi th Liber ty Hal l ’s f i r s t graduating class in 1785, seven generations of Barry's family have graduated from what is

now Washington and Lee University, including Barry and Clark’s two sons, Robert and Benjamin.

The Browns retired in Lexington seven years ago, where Barry serves RHS as a regular volunteer at the Campbell House.

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Development updateMembers' capacity to volunteer their time and talents are among the Society's most valued assets, as the profiles of board members and volunteers in this newsletter attest. With completion of the first quarter of our 2015 Annual Campaign, we thank you for your contributions and pledges. As RHS Executive Director Eric Wilson notes, "In these straitened economic times, we’re especially grateful for the care and confidence you’ve invested in our mission. We’ve grown from your support in the past, depend on it for our present efforts, and we’ll need you again in all good efforts to come."

Anyone who would like to advance the Society's work through donations or long-term planned gifts ahould contact Neely Young, Development Chair, a t NeelyYoung1@comcast .net or Eric Wilson at rochist@hotmail.com.

Collections opportunityThis year the Society will review its collection of books, textiles, art and artifacts to assure that they are properly documented and appropriately stored. Help is needed.No prior archival experience is necessary, just your time and curiosity about local historical treasures. If you can work on this effort at Campbell House, please contact Margaret Skovira, at mskovira3@gmail.com.

New board memberMary Harvey-Halseth

Mary comes to the board with a career of more than 40 years in education: teaching at the elementary, middle, high school and university levels, as well as giving private piano instruction in her studios.

A resident of Lexington for 22 years, Mary has served in many capacities on numerous volunteer boards, commissions and committees. Most recently she served on the Lexington City Council as an elected official. Because of her love of education and all that it can entail, she is excited to begin her term with RHS as the Chair of the Educational Outreach Committee. Mary is married to Dick

Halseth, a long-time, tireless volunteer for RHS. They reside in Lexington and have five sons, four grandchildren, three dogs and a cat.

The Miller's House MuseumAs the new Miller’s House Museum at Jordan’s Point nears its opening, RHS continues to support its efforts by loaning it a range of artifacts and historic images from our collections. The museum will focus on the many modes of transportation that converged at the Point, making it the industrial center for Lexington and Rockbridge County for a major portion of the 19th Century. As we continue to evaluate articles in our collection, we are confident that more pieces with meaningful connections to the museum's mission will find their way on loan to this sole remaining historic structure at Jordan's Point.

Volunteer profileDavid and Marian Harrison Novak

In 1968, the Novaks drove through Lexington en route from David’s home state of Washington to his new duty station at Norfolk. They promised themselves on the spot that one day they would live in this beautiful place. Twenty years later they bought an old house in Rockbridge Baths, and, finally, in 2013 they came to live in it permanently.

Marian studied medieval literature in graduate school, and they share a passion for history, especially the stories of people. They find that Virginia is “the perfect playground for history lovers.” The Novaks were first drawn to the Campbell House because of its historic interest and gradually learned more about Dr. Leslie Lyle Campbell, who had donated the house to RHS. As it happens, Campbell was not only a principal founder of the Rockbridge Historical Society but had taught for decades at Simmons College in Boston, the same college from which David recently retired after 37 years teaching mathematics. Now RHS volunteers, David and Marian consider it a great privilege to be directly involved in supporting Professor Campbell’s dream.

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Nearby events in local and regional history• Marshall Foundation Legacy Series, May 20: Member demonstration and talk by GMCF Archivist Jeffrey

Kozak on the German Enigma Machine, with screening of “The Imitation Game.” http://marshallfoundation.org/• Mountain Valley Preservation Alliance, May 30: public archaeology event at Natural Bridge’s Historic Barger

Cabin. http://mountainvalleypreservation.org/• Rockbridge Area Genealogical Society, June 11, Rockbridge Regional Library: “Growing up in Lexington.” Joe

‘Pete’ Shaner speaks on growing up in local schools, and his fifth-generation family business cultivating produce and flowers in the Shaner greenhouses. http://www.rrlib.net/

• Juneteenth 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation of Booker T. Washington, June 20: Booker T. Washington National Monument, Hardy, VA. Living history portrayals, free gospel concert, children’s activity tent. http://www.nps.gov/bowa/planyourvisit/calendar.htm

• Taubman Museum of Art, May 2015, Roanoke, VA: two photographic exhibits of local significance: Sally Mann’s “Battlefields,” using historic photographic techniques; Bin Danh’s “War Memoranda: Photography, Walt Whitman, and Renewal.” http://www.taubmanmuseum.org/main/

Through the rain and cold of the Garden Tour on April 25, board members John and Jeanette Matchette and their team of devoted Master Gardeners welcomed visitors to the Campbell House gardens they’ve landscaped so beautifully over the years.

Be sure to view the gardens in the warmer months ahead and read the informative, eight-page brochure the MG team produced for the tour, available in the back gardens and posted to the RHS website, http://www.rockhist.org.The morning of the tour, Dr. Beverly Tucker reprised at First Baptist Church some of the oral histories she had

transcribed and featured for the 2012 exhibit, “Dialogue with Diamond Hill,” sponsored by RHS and the Historic Lexington Foundation.That afternoon at the Old Courthouse, Eric Wilson shared a slideshow, “A History of Main Street Lexington,” that reviewed the evolution of the street's architectural, commercial, and educational landmarks from its founding in the late Eighteenth Century to living memory. He also spotlighted the continuing significance of RHS’s historic buildings, its mission in preservation, programming, and the collections of historic photographs and papers.

RHS support for recent Garden Week events

A telling map of LiberiaThe region of West Africa now known as Liberia was colonized in the early Nineteenth Century by freed African-American slaves with some support from white Americans who sought to resolve the slavery issue by sending freed slaves back to Africa. This early map of Liberia reflects its close connection with America, showing the Liberian colonies that were named after US states. This image is United States Public Domain (http://c o m m o n s . w i k i m e d i a . o r g / w i k i /File:Old_Map_Liberia.JPG).

ROCKBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETYEST. 1939

Campbell HouseWashington & Randolph StreetsP.O. Drawer 1409Lexington, Virginia 24450-1409

NON-PROFITORGANIZATIONU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT #25

LEXINGTON, VA24450

Rockbridge Historical Society www.rockhist.org

PresidentStephen D. Beck

Vice PresidentJane L. Brooke

Vice President for PropertyDavid Stull

TreasurerRichard Hubbard

SecretaryPatte Wood

CollectionsMargaret Skovira

DevelopmentNeely Young

Educational OutreachMary Harvey-Halseth

MembershipRichard K. Rathmell

At LargeJohn P. Ackerly III

Seth McCormick-GoodhartOtis Mead

Gardens {Ex-Officio}Dr. John & Jeanette Matchette

Archives {Ex-Officio}Tom Camden

TrusteesDavid Coffey

Peggy Webster HaysRichard K. Rathmell

Mary Skutt

Executive DirectorEric Wilson

NewsletterSally Nunneley

Board and Officers