NEWSLETTER OF THE FREE STATE OF PATRICK INTERNET HISTORY GROUP

PROPOSAL FOR THE FREE STATE OF PATRICK HISTORY CONSORTIUM

                                                “We can hang together or we can hang separately.” – Thomas Paine

             This is a proposal to form a group to promote Patrick County, Virginia, using the many historical sites and groups to work together to form the Free State Of Patrick History Consortium. I propose a consortium of historical groups and sites under an umbrella group called The Free State Of Patrick that will act as a clearinghouse of information on Patrick County history.

This would be a low cost group that would meet from time to time to keep each other informed about the other’s activities. The focus of the group will be to attract and educate interested parties tourists, school children and those involved in tourism such as restaurants and lodging/camping about Patrick County’s history. I believe that Patrick County’s history can bring visitors and economic benefit to us all. From the Covered Bridges at Woolwine, the Reynolds Homestead in Critz or The Hollow History Center in Ararat, there are many opportunities for history to assist the economy of our county. I believe we can do a better job of working together to attract visitors and thereby inject money into our local economy and hopefully assist in our efforts to preserve this same history.

            In 1990, I worked very hard to preserve Laurel Hill, J. E. B. Stuart’s Birthplace, in Ararat. Today, Laurel Hill is a 75-acre private park owned by the non-profit organization we began. It is preserved with many different eras of history interpreted including the Native-Americans who lived along the Ararat River, the American Revolution in the guise of William Letcher’s grave (the oldest marked grave in Patrick County), and the antebellum farm that Stuart’s parent lived on their 1500 acres. Three cemeteries survive at Laurel Hill including the slave cemetery interpreted with the known history of the African-Americans who lived at Stuart’s Birthplace. There are fifteen signs that tell visitors about this history. Laurel Hill is not just a place to come once a year for the Civil War encampment, but a place for visitors to Patrick County to enjoy dawn to dusk 365 days a year.

We never want a visitor to leave Patrick County with a negative experience of someone at gas stations does not know where Laurel Hill is located or discourage them because of their uninformed opinion with comments like “It is just a pasture.” or “There is nothing to see out there.” In reality there are fifteen interpretive signs to learn about history from, trails, picnic, water, power, etc.

Every year I give over fifty talks about J. E. B. Stuart, the Civil War and other aspects of Patrick County history all over the country. I begin and end each talk with an invitation to visit our county to learn more about this vast history. I will speak to any group in Patrick County whether civic, church or school group for free. The last two years I gave Blue Ridge Elementary School and Patrick County High School history books purchased from my own pocket along with copies of my two books, Ascent To Glory: The Genealogy of J. E. B. Stuart and The Free State of Patrick: Patrick County Virginia In The Civil War. Several years ago, I gave every school in the county a Teacher’s Guide for Laurel Hill and produced a Reference Guide for those interested in tourism and history for visiting Laurel Hill so that they could conduct tours themselves. Both of these are in PDF format on my website

         We need to break the chains that hold us down. The most obvious is the Stuart vs. Ararat, Stuart vs. Woolwine, etc. We need to think as a county, not as we against them. There needs to be county wide thinking with the idea that what is good for Ararat is good for Stuart is good for Woolwine is good for Meadows of Dan. We need to be the Free State of Patrick not the Free State of Stuart or the Free State of Elamsville or the Free State of Vesta. We especially need the local media to cover the entire county with positive and energetic attitudes. We need to think outside the box and not make narrow assumptions. For instance, a Civil War buff might come to see Stuart’s Birthplace, but he or she could be a bluegrass music fan, who would find the Willis Gap Friday night jam session enjoyable and might stay overnight, eat in our restaurants, buy gas at our service stations and go home with a positive experience that they tell their friends about it.

We should package our history as a unit. For instance, as a joke I often think that instead of being “Politically Correct” PC as PC, we are very politically incorrect with a Confederate General and a tobacco magnet from the same place. Why not package our history in various forms such as the Car/Racing sites especially to those who come to Martinsville for a race. Use J. E. B. Stuart to invite people to “ramble the dear old hills of Patrick” that he called home.

We need to work together to promote each other’s sites. We need two reciprocal relationships and not one way streets. We need less ego and empire building where history is horded and not shared. We all own this history and we should use it to help the place we live by bringing in visitors to learn about it. People will often drive hundreds of miles to visit a site while ignoring sites in their backyard. We need to make Patrick County their destination while pointing out what we have in our backyard for the local and regional visitors.

A couple of years ago former governor Gerald Baliles spoke to the Patrick County Historical Society about ways to use Patrick County’s history to promote the county. For several years I thought about his ideas, listened to others and grew my own ideas about this subject. These ideas are presented not to cast dispersion on anyone or group, but to point out how easily we could help the economy of our county by bringing visitors to the county to see our history that I do not think is known even within the county and certainly not outside Patrick County.

Several years ago I started the webpage www.freestateofpatrick.com to promote and educate anyone interested about the history of Patrick County. I saw that many historic groups did not have their own web pages and offered to host free of charge. Today you can look on the webpage and will see either informational pages or links to all these groups. I am offering my website as a clearinghouse for Patrick County history such as using the monthly email newsletter of the website to keep each other informed. This effort does not have to be controlled by the county government to work. We should be building relationships. We should spread the word about Patrick County history and no one person or group should control that. I offer sponsors to those businesses interested in helping me promote this history by placing their logo hyper linked to their website. These cost $25 a year. The web page got over 20,000 visits last year (45,000 since inception) and is on a 25% higher visitation rate for 2006 already, so people are interested in Patrick County’s history.

The group could meet at each other’s sites quarterly to discuss the progress. For instance, if we had a meeting at Laurel Hill and I gave those present a guided tour focusing on J. E. B. Stuart’s importance as a historic figure and why people would visit Patrick County because of him. One thing we should do is tour each other’s sites to train those involved in tourism. For instance, we could do a bus tour from Stuart to Laurel Hill and along the way discuss the historic or cultural sites along the way from Stuart to Ararat.

Groups/Sites Proposed For Membership

Abram Penn Daughters of the American Revolution

Fairystone State Park (Kiosk)

Free State Of Patrick Internet History Group

Goblintown Grist Mill (Kiosk)

The Hollow History Center (Kiosk)

J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace (Kiosk)

Patrick County Chamber of Commerce

Patrick County Genealogical Society

Patrick County Government/Tourism

Patrick County Historical Society and Museum (Kiosk)

Reynolds Homestead (Kiosk)

Virginia Motor Sports Hall of Fame (Kiosk with WBRM)

Wharton-Stuart SCV Camp

Wood Brothers Racing Museum (Kiosk with VMSHF)

Woolwine Covered Bridges (Kiosk)

 Internet Links

        Each member should have links on their websites to the other members. From just a cursory look around www.freestateofpatrick.com is the only webpage that has links to all the above mentioned groups.

Calendar and Communication

Use the Calendar Page of www.freestateofpatrick.com to promote all historic events in Patrick County. We could use the consortium to communicate each other’s activities via email and improve communication. We have to get away from promoting at the last minute. I offer the monthly email newsletter of the website as a communications vehicle for the group. Membership is free of charge to anyone and email addresses are not shared.

Non-Competition

The members should not schedule events that compete with one another. We should invite each other to give programs.

Tables

Members could invite each other to setup tables at events such as the Covered Bridge Festival, Civil War Encampment, and Spring Fling at the Reynolds Homestead or have a table from the consortium at events that promotes all the other groups at the Apple Dumpling Festival or Peach Festival.

Kiosk

A double sided kiosk at each site made up of the following: A permanent side with a map of the county with each members site/group noted with contact information along with information about the history relating to the historic site at each particular location. A changeable side with a bulletin board for a calendar of events and special notices along with brochure rack for sites/groups on both sides with advertisements on both sides to pay for cost of kiosks.

Annual Fund Raising Tour

We could sponsor annual or periodic tours for fee to pay for the work of the consortium like the Hospice House tours focusing on different areas of the county each year. For instance, a combination tour of Laurel Hill and The Hollow History Center or a combination tour of the Reynolds Homestead and the Goblintown Grist Mill, etc. 

Monthly Newspaper Article

Each month The Enterprise could publish an article about the history relating to each of the members sites and work, written either by a representative of the organization or staff of the newspaper. We could use this to educate our local populace to the many different historical sites and groups and what they do. People in the mercantile, camping, lodging and restaurant business should know where things are.

Monthly Radio Program on WHEO

Each month a representative from each group could do a five minute monologue similar to Dr. Robertson’s weekly program on Public Radio talking about the history and what each group/site offers people talking about history.

Monthly Cable Program

Each month we could have a program on the local cable access like BTW21’s “Remember When” or Surry County History with Marion Venable on Mount Airy cable that discusses history for a half hour every week using a representative of each group/site.

Town Meetings

We should go around to each community and hold town meetings to educate these people along with offering specialty training to those interested.

Step On Tours

Bus tours coming to Star Theater should offer tours during the day to these groups who bring their money to Patrick County to help support these historic groups. I propose we give tours of Patrick County history to any combination of the above sites working with each facility to coordinate visits. One only needs to visit downtown Mount Airy to see the Mayberry craze that descends on the town every year. Some of these people could easily visit Patrick County as part of their journey. We could develop a local group of people to act as tour guides where they could step on buses of visiting groups to the Star Theater, racing themed tours or groups visiting The Hollow History Center and Stuart’s Birthplace promoting Orleana Puckett, Bob Childress and J. E. B. Stuart.

Driving Tours

I am developing web pages on the subjects listed below. They could easily be adopted into brochures, PDF files, or simple maps that could be readily available at the sites. Driving tour web pages under development on www.freestateofpatrick.com

                        Patrick County History Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

                        Patrick County History Along Highway 58

                        Patrick County History Along Route 8

Other Histories: African-American, Native-American History and Other History

            Other areas promote their cultural history through African-American or Native-American History through driving tours or literature about Patrick County’s history on these subjects. There are already web pages on these subjects on www.freestateofpatrick.com.

             There are several areas of history the consortium could work with the county, state and historical groups to interpret areas of the county to make it more of a historical attraction. For instance, at Fred Clifton Park/Lover’s Leap we could create an exhibit space or kiosk about Native-American history to take advantage of the legends and the real history of the time before written history.

             Another idea might be to have a combination of the Fairystone/Fayerdale area near the park or near the walk down on Highway 57 near the gas station. We could interpret the importance of farming in Patrick County especially tobacco farming by using existing resources such as the Mitchell/Dellenback house at Laurel Hill or the outdoor farm exhibit at The Hollow History Center.

Site Specific Ideas

Goblintown Grist Mill

            This is a private site in the Elamsville section of Patrick County near Fairystone Park owned by Mr. George Cox. The Mill is in the process of restoration and is on the Virginia and National Register of Historic Places. We should find a way to work with Mr. Cox to open the mill for visitors.

Reynolds Homestead

            I would like to see the focus be more on the history of the Gilded Age magnates Abram and R. J. Reynolds. Another idea would be for a short history for sale at the site or a Reference Guide like the one I created for Laurel Hill.

Laurel Hill

            I would like to see the Visitors Center opened on weekends. Stuart’s Birthplace was set up for self-guided tours, but that does not mean it has to be only self-guided. I gave the organization several years ago a Reference Book and a Teacher’s Guide that could be used for each docent or Board Member could give their own tour. I would like to see Tobacco money or some other funding source be used to restore the Dellenback/Mitchell House as a tobacco farm museum, which is a very important part of Patrick County’s history.

Patrick County Historical Society

            The museum in Stuart while strapped for space could work with The Hollow History Center for outdoor farm exhibit. I would like to see the society use its vast financial resources to promote Patrick County’s history and be open to new blood and new ideas. The organization should publish more about the history it preserves and expand the weekend hours of operation.

The Hollow History Center

            Raleigh and Shelby Inscore Puckett started this site in the Doe Run section of Ararat over the last few years. The site is open on weekends and includes a cabin from the Puckett family, a research library cabin, a barn/farm equipment exhibit and a covered picnic shelter. The two programs we held last year were attended by more than seventy people and proved to me there is an audience for history of this kind. We hope to focus on Orleana Puckett, Bob Childress and J. E. B. Stuart, all from Ararat, Virginia.

Free State of Patrick Internet Group          

            I created this website as a starting point for history in Patrick County with links to all the Patrick County history sites and even offered to host web pages for those who did not have an internet presence. I send out a monthly email newsletter free of charge and open to anyone who subscribes to promote events, history and the history of Patrick County. I think this is an easy way for the consortium to stay informed and educate each other. I see the Patrick County Page as the starting point for Patrick County History which will lead visitors to all the other historic sites and groups. I see the Calendar Page as a place to promote all historically related events.

Conclusion

            I hope these thoughts on history will cause some action and that we can work towards the goal of helping our economic situation by using our history in a positive way to attract visitors. I hope that we can teach each other some lessons in countywide thinking and education our children and ourselves about the rich and varied past we share in the “Free State Of Patrick.”

             Last year I put up pages on Patrick County’s Covered Bridges, the Patrick County Oral History Project from twenty-five years ago and a page about Patrick County in the Vietnam Conflict. In 2007, along with the already mentioned there will be driving tour pages. I do this because while I do computers for a living, I do history for fun and believe you should never stop doing the thing you love.

             I was once told that saving Stuart’s Birthplace was a “pipe dream.” I ignored the negative believing you can get mad or you can get busy. On the Home Page of www.freestateofpatrick.com is a rainbow in Rock Castle Gorge from the Blue Ridge Parkway. I placed this photo as the first picture someone would see on my website is because “Somewhere Over the Rainbow…the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.”

You see the ideas are endless, but we have to start somewhere and the place we should start is educating each other about what we have in Patrick County that might attract visitors interested in history or get visitors in the area to take a look at us because of our history.

Copyright 2006 Tom Perry. No material to be used without permission. Contact Information: P. O. Box 
50 Ararat VA 24053

				 freestateofpatrick@yahoo.com