February, 2016 - Nelson County Historical Society

Nelson County Historical Society News
February, 2016
Promoting an understanding and appreciation of the
history and culture of Nelson County, Virginia
Issue 5
Tribal Historian to Speak at Annual Meeting
NCHS— Events 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
March 20th, 2016
2:00 PM
Sunday—2:00 PM
The Nelson Center
Lovingston, Virginia
The Nelson CenterLovingston, VA
Nelson County Historical Society Annual
Meeting
—————-
Oakland Museum
Opens
Program:
“The Monacan Indians of
Virginia: A History” by
Karenne Wood
Business meeting to follow
Karenne Wood
the program.
Photo by Jessica Elmendorf
April 2, 2016
Inside this issue:
Wintergreen Village 2
Wintergreen Village 3
Riverside Farm
4
Business Meeting
5
Recent Donations
6
Officers and New
Members
7
Becky Howard Editor
Karenne Wood, an enrolled member of the Monacan Indian Nation, who directs Virginia Indian Programs at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, will be the featured speaker at the Society’s annual meeting on Sunday March 20th in the Nelson
Center. Entitled "The Monacan Indians of Virginia: A History,” her presentation will
examine the early history of Native peoples in what we now call central Virginia, analyzing archaeological evidence and American Indian oral history to make some startling comparisons about how and when people first arrived here. She will then will
trace the development of Monacan culture and historical experience through the colonial period and subsequent centuries to the present.
Karenne Wood has served as the Monacan tribal historian for almost twenty years.
She holds a MFA in poetry and a PhD in linguistic anthropology. Her dissertation focuses on the Monacan ancestral language and cultural revival in Amherst County, Virginia. She has worked at the National Museum of the American Indian as a researcher and at the Association on American Indian Affairs as a repatriation specialist. In
2015 she was honored as one of Virginia’s Women in History. Karenne is the author
of two poetry collections, Markings on Earth (2000) and Weaving the Boundary, due
out in spring 2016. Her poems have appeared in such journals as The Kenyon Review,
Orion, and Shenandoah.
The program is open to everyone—come and bring a friend.
A short business meeting will follow including election of Society Officers and Board
Members for 2016, a yearly financial report and proposed plans for the year.
(See page 5 for Nominating Committee Report)
Page 2
DR. HAWES N. COLEMAN'S STORE AT ELK HILL
By Elizabeth Cabell Guy Richardson
(Second in a series of articles on the History of Wintergreen Village)
The earliest known mention of a store in the general vicinity of the future Wintergreen village was in a
three-room building that once stood in the yard of Elk Hill, home of Dr. Hawes Nicholas Coleman Jr. (His dwelling house still stands overlooking Rte. 151 about a mile southwest of the village of Wintergreen.)
Before the Civil War, Dr. Coleman is said to have practiced medicine from an office in the side yard of his
home (as well as from an office on Adial Road roughly across from today's Mt. Eagle Church near Nellysford).
But after his health became impaired, he
reportedly gave up the medical profession to
grow fruit commercially, raise cattle, and
operate his store (possibly in the same building in which he used to see patients).
H.N. Coleman was listed as a general merchant who also sold liquor in an 1877-78
business directory. From at least 1869 to
1877, his "store at Elk Hill" had a county license to sell containers of up to 5 gallons of
liquor to drink either on or off premises.
(Record books for 1860 to 1868 are missing.)
Elk Hill—Rt. 151 near Wintergreen Village
To help him run this store, he employed
clerks, two of the last being Alexander Sunley and M.H. Dawson, according to court depositions taken after Coleman's death in July of 1877. Items for
sale in the store included hardware, boots, shoes, dry goods, and patent medicines such as Dr. Jayne's for human ailments and Dr. Pullen's powders for horses. The store was not open on a regular basis after Dr. Coleman became ill about two months before his death. During this time Coleman’s oldest son J. Tinsley Coleman,
his younger children, or his wife would wait on customers if requested to do so. Many of the customers were
farmhands who worked the Elk Hill land.
After Dr. Coleman's death, lawsuits were brought against his estate for debts apparently inherited from his
father John J. Coleman. According to court depositions taken in connection with these suits, in December
1877 the Elk Hill store was turned over to the brother of Coleman's widow, A.S. Watson, who was from
Covesville, Albemarle County. He restocked the store, but in turn, sold his stock of goods to Dr. Coleman's eldest son J. Tinsley Coleman in September of 1878. Tinsley operated the Elk Hill store for a while, then moved it
"to the mill", taking the store fixtures and counters with him. An 1880-81 business directory lists J.T. Coleman
under general merchandise and liquor, and he held a county license to sell liquor off premises at "Coleman's
Mill" from 1879 to 1881. However, his store at the mill had reportedly burned down by about 1880.
Although the location isn't specified, Coleman's mill likely was in the centrally located future village of Wintergreen, where mills and a store are known to have stood by the late 1870s and probably much earlier. Until the
latter 1930s, there was no highway passing in front of Elk Hill, making the store's original location somewhat
inaccessible.
Today, a depression in the side yard of Elk Hill is thought to indicate the location of Dr. Coleman's medical
office and perhaps his store.
Page 3
SLAUGHTER & FITZPATRICK STORE AND POST OFFICE
AT WINTERGREEN VILLAGE
The court ordered the sale of all Dr. Hawes N. Coleman Jr.'s property at public auction in 1880. His widow, Nannie Elizabeth Watson Coleman, was able to purchase their home farm of Elk Hill. However, 400 acres known as the
Brick Mill Tract, lying between Wintergreen and Elk Hill farms, was bought by the mercantile partnership of
Slaughter & Fitzpatrick. Included in the purchase was the site of what later became known as Wintergreen village,
along with several mills.
The partnership operated a store on one acre of this property, located on today's Glenthorne Loop between
Spruce Creek and the present Wintergreen intersection. "Slaughter & Fitzpatrick" and "Slaughter & Co." were
listed as general merchants here in business directories of 1881/82 and 1884/85 respectively.
Partner Samuel P. Slaughter ran this commercial enterprise. He was also listed in the 1881/82 directory as operating an area gristmill and sawmill, undoubtedly the ones that had formerly belonged to Dr. Hawes N. Coleman Jr.,
which appear to have stood in the village of Wintergreen next door to Slaughter's store, where foundations of a
mill still exist.
At the time, the nearest post office was at Nellys Ford, and in order to attract customers, Slaughter would bring
mail from this post office to his store every Saturday night for more convenient pick-up by area residents, according to W.E. Rittenhouse of nearby Glenthorne farm. In 1881 he arranged to open his own post office, which was
called "Slaughter" or "Slaughters". The surrounding community was referred to by the same name until 1902,
when the name of the post office was changed to "Wintergreen" after the adjoining farm of that name.
(Interestingly, deeds and tax records continued to refer to area property as located at "Slaughter" or "Slaughters"
for years afterwards)
Samuel Slaughter was said to be a fine Christian man, much admired and respected by his neighbors. Unfortunately, he died of typhoid fever in 1885 after operating his store and post office for only a few years. He left behind a
wife and six children under the age of 14. After his death, the Slaughter and Fitzpatrick partnership was dissolved,
and the 400 acres they owned was broken up and sold to various different people. (Dr. Coleman's widow Nannie
bought approximately half the tract.)
The store property was sold to John E. Gannaway, who continued to run the store and live in the same building
with his family. Unfortunately, the store burned down at some point (probably the 1890s), according to W.E.
Rittenhouse. In 1925, this one-acre lot "where the old Slaughter and Fitzpatrick store had been located" was sold
to Grover C. Harris, who had been operating a store diagonally across Glenthorne Loop from the property (now
the Rockfish Valley Natural History Center). Harris continued to own the property until his death in a mill accident
in 1953.
Today, there is no sign of the old Slaughter and Fitzpatrick store which played such a central role in the life of the
surrounding community. Hopefully, archeology tentatively planned for the site will show more about this store
and its associated buildings (including the liquor still that Gannaway built there).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mrs. Richardson has done extensive research on the southern Rockfish Valley. Her areas of
investigation extend from Beech Grove north to the intersection of Routes 151 and 6. Various aspects of life in
southern Rockfish Valley will be in coming issues of the Society newsletter including mills, farms, churches, and
homes.
SOURCES:
1880 court depositions re Hawes N. Coleman’s estate, file , Va. Dept. Hist. Resources.
Biographical information compiled by Samuel Bassett French, Library of Virginia website.
Chataigne’s Virginia Business Directory and Gazetteer, 1877-78 p.548, 1880-81 p. 364, Library of Virginia.
Nelson County minute books 1868-74:45&139; 1874-78:22,215,293; 1878-82:102&168, Nelson Courthouse.
Page 4
“Riverside Farm” - Roseland—added to the Virginia Historic Landmarks Register
Riverside Farm or the” Pettit Farm” as it was known for many years
was a part of a land grant to Robert Rose from King George II of England in 1744. The original 537 acre property was bought by Dr.
George Cabell, then James A. Goodwin and later James C. Pettit and
passing to two more generations of the Pettit family.
The Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources nomination states that “the
house at Riverside Farm , completed in 1841 and expanded in 1851,
is locally important for its modest, late Federal-style architecture.
The main house features sophisticated architectural elements seen
in earlier, grander houses in the county but executed at Riverside on
a smaller scale, reflecting architectural ambitions beyond its size and
reportedly the original owner's financial capacity. The farm, which contains several early outbuildings,
evolved through time to meet changing agricultural needs.”
Riverside Farm overlooks the Tye River with a commanding view of the river bottom in the Roseland area
near the intersection of Route 151/Rt 56 W. In recent years the property has had several ownerships and is
presently owned by Debra Speyer.
Other Nelson County properties and historic districts that are on the historic register can be found at
<http://www.dhr.virginia.gov>.
Source: Photograph from VA—Department of Historic Resources website.
Nelson County Factual Information—1929
When Nelson County was established in 1807, it was the eightieth county of the state.
1920 Census—population of Nelson County was 17,277 people. [Population 2015—14,993 people]
The five accredited schools named in the order of high school enrollment were: Lovingston, Schuyler,
Fleetwood, Rockfish Valley and Lowesville (operated jointly by Amherst and Nelson Counties)
Largest manufacturing industries were: Mining soapstone- The Virginia Alberene Corporation (Schuyler),
The Standard Soapstone and The Phoenix Stones Company (Arrington) closed 1927; The Klimax Kaolin
Company (near Piney River) mining kaolin; The American Rutile Company (Roseland) mining rutile.
In 1925, according to the “US Census of Agriculture, Virginia” there were 2009 farms in Nelson. Of these,
1318 contained less than 100 acres, 634 between 100 - 500 acres and 55 between 500 - 5000 acres.
Nelson County ranked 4th place in Virginia in the apple industry production with 382 commercial orchards,
with a total of 334,660 trees, which was approximately 85 per cent of the apple trees in the county. Many
varieties of apples were grown in the county including York Imperial, Ben Davis , Black Twig, Delicious,
Grimes Golden, Rome Beauty but by far the leading varieties was the Winesap (209,908 trees) and Albemarle Pippin (67,167 trees).
In 1927 Nelson produced 2,050,000 pounds of tobacco, one of the main money, or “cash” crops with an
average yield of 820 pounds per acre.
79 tractors were in use on the Nelson farms in 1925 with farmers fast learning that modern machinery was
the greatest aid to progressive farming.
Source: “Nelson County Geography Supplement” University of Virginia Summer Quarter (1929)—by H.
Peyton Creasy, Mrs. B. F. Giannini, Dawn T. Jones, Mrs. J. B. Massie, and Sallie O. Maupin [The research
was compiled by these Nelson County educators]
Page 5
Nominations for Society Officers and Board Members
(Continued from page 1)
Business Meeting
The Nominating Committee will present the following slate of Society Officers and Board Members for 2016 to be
elected by the membership:
President—Bob Carter
Vice President—Robert Goad
Secretary—Woody Greenberg
Treasurer—Beth Goodwin
Returning Society Board Members whose
terms begin in 2016 are:
Dick Whitehead
Jean Brent
Bob Carter
Debbie Harvey
Nominated to the Board for the first time are:
Jack Buni –Roseland
Bill Brent– Arrington
Helen Kimble—Greenfield
These board members are nominated for a three year term with terms ending in 2019.
Brady Nicks and Andy Wright are retiring from the board this year. All other board members will remain until their
terms expire in 2017 or 2018.
Intern Grace Parr Accessions Reporter’s Gift to the Historical Society
The Society wishes to thank Grace Parr, a senior at Nelson County High School enrolled in the Blue Ridge Governor’s School program, who volunteered this fall as an Oakland Museum intern working under the supervision of
Beth Goodwin and Bob Carter. In fulfilling her community service requirement for graduation, she took on a project to accession newspaper articles on life in Nelson County that were written by Agnes “Aggie” Burke Rives for
the Nelson County Times in the early 1980s. Mrs. Rives had collected every article she wrote during her stint as a
local reporter and donated them to the Historical Society with the understanding that they would be preserved.
Among Ms. Parr’s favorite discoveries was an article about her father’s graduation from Nelson County High
School. Grace is the daughter of David and Caroline Parr, Piney River and plans to attend Lynchburg College to
pursue a career as a lawyer.
Photo Identified
Thanks to Mark Chase in Midlothian, VA and Jim Farrar in Crewe, VA, this
unidentified photo in the June 2015 Society Newsletter has been identified.
Phoenix Soapstone House
The house is on Arrington Rd. five or six miles east of Arrington and was
built for the Vice-President of the Phoenix Soapstone Plant. The plant
closed in 1927 and the house was bought by Virgil and Alma Wood and
remained in the family until the late 1970s. It is still occupied as a residence.
Page 6
Society Connects With Schools
Society Teachers Grant committee
Recent Donations
“The Omohundro Genealogical
Record “(1951) by Malvern H.
Omohundro given by Don Bowen—
Faber, VA
Genealogy binder of Thomas Ryan
Fortune of Lynchburg—given by Jean
Even—Evingston, VA
“Granddaddy Joe” book by Cheryl
Oliver and genealogy of the Purvis
family given by Cheryl Oliver—
Charleston, SC
Burgess postcards of Lovingston
given by James Sherrard, Rosewood,
CA
Nelson County memorabilia– James
River Canal spike, James Lovings
grant, photographs, etc—given by
Mike Crabill -Lovingston, VA
1937 Lovingston High School
framed diploma—Annie Louise
Gleason -given by Jennifer Haynes—
Seattle, WA
Lovingston High School yearbook—
1944 given by Janice Wheaton—
Roseland, VA
“Torn Land”, Hurricane Camille
book—given by Nathan Lumpkins—
Gretna, VA
“Cabell Family Homes and
Graveyards” 2015—CD given by
Archer Guy Minardi—Richmond, VA
The committee of teachers working with the Society on using local
resources to teach the Virginia Standards of Learning will be working throughout the next year. Among the ideas under discussion
are: 1) visits by 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students in the summer enrichment program to significant places of interest in the county,
such as businesses employing technology, where business owners
will explain how they use technology, the history of its use and how
it has changed over the years; 2) an oral history project wherein
students will learn how to interview family members about what
they experienced growing up in the county and how the county has
changed over the years; 3) studying what was going on in the rest
of the world at the time of Hurricane Camille; 4) the history of Native Americans in the county; and 5), having students create timelines of significant dates in the county's history. Students may also
visit Oakland to learn about Camille and how rural electrification
changed people's lives. Another idea under consideration is a summer workshop for Nelson County teachers on using historical places in the county to teach its history.
Woody Greenberg
Tye River Elementary School students at Oakland Museum
Under the direction of
music teacher, Beverly
White, Tye River Elementary School students
participated at the Oakland Open House in December. On a warm sunny day these students
sang a selection of
Christmas songs to the
visitors, followed by a
visit from Santa.
Refreshments were provided and the students
and parents toured the
museum exhibits.
Thanks you for being a
part of our holiday open
house.
Photo by Bill Brent
Welcome New Members
New Members
Linda and Kevin Crowe ——––—Amherst, VA
Dave & Jane Francis ——-——-——Faber, VA
Margaret James —————White Plains, MO
Thomas Nelson, Jr. ————--—Roseland, VA
Abby Rice —————————Lovingston, VA
Kevin Rose—————–-———–-Schuyler, VA
William Tyler————–—–—–-Nellysford, VA
Sara A. Sherrard———————-Shipman, VA
Mary and Ken Stevens —––—Midlothian, VA
Fred Willoughby ——————Lovingston, VA
Page 7
Thanks to the many members who added an
extra donation to the Society when you renewed your membership for 2016.
Thanks to Jean Brent and the Nelson County
Garden Club for decorating Oakland Museum
and Bernard L. McGinnis for providing illumination to the exterior of Oakland for the holidays.
Nelson County Historical Society
Officers and Board of Directors
Elected at the annual meeting on March 15, 2015
President—Bob Carter
Vice President—Woody Greenberg
Treasurer—Beth Goodwin
Jean Brent
Gift memberships
Roland Thomas Micklem—–-Staunton , VA
Given by James Micklem
Marie Napier ——————–-Nellysford, VA
Given by Patti Wiggins
Mr. & Mrs. Barry Bryant -Newport News, VA
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Bryant——–Keswick, VA
JoAnn M. Bryant —————–Arrington, VA
Mr. & Mrs. Richard R. James —Amherst, VA
Robert Goad
Anke Goetz
Becky Howard
Brady Nicks
Leigh Thompson
Dick Whitehead
David Wooldridge
Andy Wright
Given by Robert G. Bryant
Julian W. Banton—————–Birmingham, AL
Given by Joan and Ed Rothgeb
Archer Minardi ———————Richmond, VA
Given by Elizabeth Richardson
Your involvement will help fulfill the mission
of the Society :
To create and promote an interest in preserving, exhibiting and acquiring artifacts, documents, photographs, audio and video recordings and other sources and to interpret and
exhibit Nelson County history.
Nelson County Historical Society
P.O. Box 474
Lovingston, VA 22949
http:://www.nelsonhistorical.org
E-mail: nchsva@gmail.com
Oakland Museum
5365 Thomas Nelson Highway
Arrington, VA 22922
Phone: 434-263-8400
Oakland Museum Open
April –December
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday
1pm—4pm
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Annual Membership to the Nelson County Historical Society
Name__________________________________Email_______________________
Address____________________________________________________________
______Individual @ $15
______Family (spouses) @ $20
______Supporting @ $25
Checks made payable to:
Nelson County Historical Society
P.O. Box 474
Donations to support our work and future
development:
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Life Memberships will no longer be offered
Lovingston, VA 22949
Give a membership to a friend !!!