newsletter

"There is nothing new in the world except the history you don't know" -- Harry Truman

Hello Tom,

I read your tribute to Porter Bondurant in the May, 2008 newsletter on the Free State of Patrick web site. I met Porter back in 2006 when I was researching my family history in Patrick County. My great great grandparents owned property along Clark’s Creek during and after the Civil war; this property and other parcels were eventually owned by an unmarried sister of my great grandfather, Hester Catherine ‘Kate’ Deatherage. Porter and his sister, Carrie Sue, remembered ‘Aunt Kate’ from when they were children.

I enjoyed talking to Mr. Bondurant about the families and history along Clark’s creek. He helped to clarify the location of the grave one of Kate’s sisters; Susannah F. Deatherage married Meredith Pell and they lived out their lives in Patrick County, near Ararat. I had found the graves and headstone of Meredith and some of their children at the Pedigo cemetery but, could not find a grave for Susannah. I asked Mr. Bondurant if he might have some idea where I might look to find Susannah’s grave and he told me that she is probably buried next to Meredith. Porter went on to tell me that, years ago, he used to cut the grass at Pedigo cemetery and the field stones that were used to mark some graves made it very difficult to use the grass mowing equipment so he ‘rolled them down the hill’ to get them out of the way.

Sure enough, if you look at the grave locations near Meredith Pell’s headstone at Pedigo, you’ll see a wide, unmarked area that encircles Meredith’s grave … so, for the sake of my family’s genealogy, according to Porter Bondurant, Susannah is right there, next to Meredith.

Any way, I thought your write up was a nice tribute to Mr. Bondurant. I enjoyed meeting and talking to him.

When we were in Patrick County, I found the graves of three of my gr. grandfather’s sisters : Susannah Deatherage Pell - next to husband, Meredith Pell at Pedigo according to Porter Bondurant; Mary Victoria Deatherage is buried under a field stone next to her husband, Richard D. Hendricks in the private Council Smith family cemetery on Truckers Road, and Amna Avoy Deatherage Scales, buried under a nice double headstone with husband, Andrew Jasper Scales at the Hunters Chapel cemetery.

I have never been able to locate the graves my gr. grandfather’s parents, William Deatherage and Elizabeth Pickel Deatherage – they show on the county census up through 1880 and then there is no record. Likewise, one other sister, Ruth J. Deatherage repeatedly shows in the census records up until 1880 and then disappears.

Probably the biggest mystery is where Hester Catherine ‘Kate’ Deatherage may be buried. According to family history, she had been engaged to be married when her fiancé was killed in the Civil War (we have no idea who the fiancé’ may have been). Kate continues to show in the county census records up until 1910 and there is a deed record in the Patrick Co. clerks office which shows her transferring land to one of her nieces in 1921 but, I have found no grave nor other information that definitely identifies where she may be buried. Carrie Sue Culler said she thought that ‘Aunt Kate’, as they called her, may have been buried in the cemetery at Center Church but, she wasn’t sure. The niece that Kate gave her land to, Myrtle F. Poore, is buried at center church under an inscribed headstone, but nothing to indicate where Kate may be.

Kate is probably at Center Church; the property she owned was on Long Branch road, near or adjacent to the church, and niece Myrtle was buried there in 1926. There are a couple of fieldstone marked graves there – maybe one of them is Kate’s.

If you can find anything on the burials of William and Elizabeth Deatherage, or there daughters, Ruth J. or Hester Catherine, I’d be grateful if you would pass it along. [Note: There was a William A. Deatherage (a cousin to my gg grandfather) in Patrick County, contemporary with my gr gr grandfather William, but all census records and legal documents I’ve seen always distinguished between the two by including the initial ‘A.’ for the other William)

Regards,

Dave Deatherage davidcd@flash.net

My friend Porter Bondurant passed away while I was in Augusta, Georgia, with my mother over Easter visiting her 82 year old sister Kathryn. I say Porter was my friend because I knew him my entire life. When I was a kid he gave me candy when I went into his store, now the J. E. B. Stuart Grocery, on the hill above the home he shared with Pearl. He was born before World War One and served in World War Two. He is the only man I know who rode the Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad “The Dinky” and we videotaped he and his older sister Caroline Susan Bondurant Culler “Carrie Sue” several years ago talking about it. Porter took Kenney Kirkman with me and Gordon Axelrod on his John Deere Gator along with the path the railroad took across his land. Many times I would stop and talk to Porter by myself because along with his sister Carrie Sue he was history in Ararat. He could tell some whoppers, but he could tell some serious and moving stories about his life from playing practical jokes on a stingy man carrying apples on a wagon to his disgust with a man that abused a mule pulling a wagon up the hill by his house. He could take us back to the days when Clark’s Creek was damned up to form an ice skating pond just below his home or his experiences in Belgium and France with the locals, but more about that later. Porter lived on the land that his great-grandfather Pedigo lived on. In fact, his family’s neighbors were J. E. B. Stuart’s family and I believe that Porter’s grandmother knew the young Civil War General born in Ararat in 1833. Apparently, they live a long time in his family as his 94 years indicate. Porter joined the U. S. Army on July 7, 1943 at age 29. He served in the Motor Transport Division, Headquarters Command in Europe for two years and one month. He received the Good Conduct Medal, European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon and the World War Two Victory Medal. He served in the campaign that freed Europe from the Nazis. Before being honorably discharged on June 12, 1946, he drove trucks supply the armies of Patton and Bradley over 200 missions across France, Belgium and Germany. One story is that he searched the records of HQ in Richfield, England, and found his brother Peter Floyd Bondurant was in London. Porter got a pass and reunited with his brother in London, where the latter was with the 8^th Air Force Fighter Squadron. Porter was one of the charter members of the Ararat Ruritan Club in 1953. In 1961 he opened Blue Ridge View Grocery, now J. E. B. Stuart Grocery, and operated the store for fifteen years. What a view of the Blue Ridge it has. Porter now rests in the Pedigo Cemetery with that same view of the Blue Ridge and all of us in Ararat will miss him.

My brother, Warren, forwarded this photo to me and I thought it might be of interest for the website in the "racing" section. It is the 1958 final race on the beach at Daytona. As you will notice, Glen Wood was leading in a 1954 Ford.

Visit Tom Perry's booth #110 in the Just Plain Country Store in Stuart Virginia

Books include hardcover fiction, history: local, civil war and presidential, paperbacks and audiobooks.

"We are the Hokies. We will prevail, we will prevail. We are Virginia Tech. " -- Nikki Giovanni

Dr. Cory Joe Stewart

When he was thirteen years old Cory Joe Stewart use to sit by the campfire with me, Bill Boyd, Gary Snow, John Cail and others at the first encampment at J. E. B. Stuart’s Birthplace, the Laurel Hill Farm in Ararat, Virginia. Now, he is about to become a PhD in history. Cory was always a good story teller, but it is particularly gratifying to me to see him succeed in history. I wish I could claim some credit for this, but his parents Clyde and Wanda deserve that. I must tell you that I was the Rockford North Carolina Memorial Day Ceremony on May 24, 2008, sitting out in the crowd listening to him wax eloquently about the American Revolution in the backcountry of North Carolina. He even mentioned William Letcher, whose grave, the oldest marked one in Patrick County, who was killed during the American Revolution at Laurel Hill in August 1780. I was thinking that is it when it comes to history. The stories pass on to the next generation. While sometimes they become myths and sometimes they become part of doctoral dissertations. Twenty years ago this year I began thinking of preserving the site and the history of Stuart’s Birthplace. Most of the time I do not think we did not do it right, but every now and then out of the mouth’s of babes or doctoral students I think we did do something right. So, maybe a little encouragement and mentoring by the firelight pays dividends twenty years down the road. So, congrats to Dr. Stewart and his family for keeping the history alive.

Patrick County Historian Tom Perry is working to bring tourists to The Free State Of Patrick with history. Tom, a graduate of Virginia Tech,, is the author of The Free State of Patrick: Patrick County Virginia in the Civil War, Ascent to Glory: The Genealogy of J. E. B Stuart, J. E. B. Stuart’s Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm, Images of America: Patrick County, Virginia, God’s Will Be Done: The Christian Life of J. E. B. Stuart and the upcoming Notes From the Free State of Patrick: Patrick County and Regional History - Volume One. Enjoy a tour of sites in Ararat associated with Civil War General J. E. B Stuart, Reverend Bob Childress, made famous in The Man Who Moved A Mountain and mid-wife Aunt Orlean Hawks Puckett, made famous by her cabin along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Other topics will include the Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad along with stories, legends and infamous crimes in the area known as The Hollow, Friends Mission and Ararat, Virginia, which are the same place. Tours are flexible and our guests’ interests in any particular subject can be expanded with tours to the “Rock Churches” ministered by Bob Childress or a stop by Aunt Orlean’s humble, rustic mountain cabin along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Experience history at its best as Tom brings J. E. B Stuart alive along with other famous Patrick County residents of the past. Availability is dependent on the author’s schedule and only Advance Reservations can take advantage of the tours. Many people come into Patrick County and improve the place we live. My family were once “outsiders” when they came to “The Free State Of Patrick” the year before I was born in 1959. I think new blood and new ideas are good especially if they bring better economic times to the area.

Patrick County's Covered Bridges

Congressman Rick Boucher announced the awarding of federal funds in the amount of $220,000 for renovate the Woolwine Covered Bridge called Jack’s Creek on April 22, 2008. The money will restore and protect the bridge, including a new roof, security features and fireproofing. Total cost of renovations is $284,167. Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission provided $37,320.

Covered Bridge Festival Saturday In Woolwine

The Woolwine Ruritans, Volunteer Fire Department Smith River Rescue Squad will sponsor the Virginia Covered Bridge Festival on Saturday June 21, 2008. The annual Virginia Covered Bridge Festival will be hosted in Woolwine, Virginia between Jacks Creek and Bob White Covered Bridges. There will be live bands, numerous artists and craftsmen exhibiting and selling their products and food vendors. Wagon rides, tractor pulled hayrides and antique car rides will be available providing travel from one covered bridge to the other. Kids will have a terrific time at the kid activity area that has a petting zoo, moonwalk, face painting and more! In 2007 Patrick County was named the official state location for the Virginia Covered Bridge Festival.
Contact Information coveredbridgefestival@yahoo.com (276) 930-2127 or (276)694-8367

Covered Bridge Donated To Bassett Historical Center

The Virginia Covered Bridge Society, Inc. recently donated a miniature covered bridge to the Bassett Historical Center. The miniature of the Jack’s Creek Covered Bridge in Woolwine was donated in the name of Izzy DeJesus, the first President of the VCVS. It was delivered on Thursday, March 6, 2008. Marty Wyatt of Chesterfield, Missouri built the miniature.

Walter G. Weaver of Woolwine, Virginia, liked to design and build bridges. In fact, the saw miller, blacksmith and carpenter liked to do almost anything with wood whether it was bridges or coffins. When he died in 1948 there were four bridges in Patrick County that he had designed or built still standing. Two were over Rock Castle Creek, one where Route 40 passes over the stream and another on Widgeon Road. While neither of them is standing today, two other of Weaver’s bridges still stand, two of the seven original covered bridges in Virginia. Charlie Vaughan of Buffalo Ridge built the Jack’s Creek Covered Bridge in 1914. Walter Weaver designed it and Peter C. Brammer roofed the structure. The bridge is 48’6” long and 13’6” wide and sits near Route 615 two miles south of Woolwine just off Route 8. It served Jack’s Creek Primitive Baptist Church until a modern bridge replaced it in 1932. In 1969, the Woolwine Ruritan Club raised money for repairs, painting and roofing material. In 1973, the Patrick County Board of Supervisors took action to save the bridge getting a matching grant from the Virginia Landmarks Commission to restore the bridge. Weaver designed and built the Bob White Covered Bridge in 1921. Named for the Bob White Post Office and a quail, the bridge was in service for the Smith River Church of the Brethren on Route 708 until 1981 when a new road was built. Patrick County took responsibility for the structure that same year. The bridge has two spans and is 80’ long with concrete abutments at the end and a solid concrete pier in the center. You can reach the bridge by taking Route 618 1 ½ half miles south of Woolwine off Route 8 and then to Route 869. The bridge is known for its arundo grass that grows around it in the summer. Both of Patrick County’s Covered Bridges received membership on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The Patrick County Historical Society and the county government take care of the bridges. The Jack’s Creek Covered Bridge and the Bob White Covered Bridge were added to the Virginia Landmarks Register on April 17, 1973 and the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1973. Virginia’s other covered bridges are as follows. Giles County has three covered bridges. The C. K. Reynolds Bridge, Link’s Farm Bridge and the Sinking Creek Bridge all cross the Sinking Creek. Allegheny County has the Humpback Bridge over Dunlap Creek. Rockingham County has the Biedler Farm Bridge over Smith Creek. Shenandoah County has the restored Meem’s Bottom Bridge over the Shenandoah River. For further information try Covered Bridges in Virginia by Leola B. Pierce.

http://www.freestateofpatrick.com/coveredbridges.htm

Hillsville Virginia Receives Preserve America Designation

HILLSVILLE, Va. - Hillsville has been recognized inside the White House. On June 4, town officials were notified that their application to become a Preserve America Community was approved by First Lady Laura Bush, the honorary chair of the Preserve America initiative. “Preserve America Communities demonstrate that they are committed to preserving America’s heritage while ensuring a future filled with opportunities for learning and enjoyment,” Bush said in a release. “This community designation program, combined with the Preserve America Grant Program, Preserve America Presidential Awards, and other federal support, provides strong incentives for continued preservation of our cultural and natural heritage resources. I commend you for your commitment to preserving an important part of our nation’s historic past for visitors, neighbors, and, most importantly, for children.” The Preserve America initiative is an Administration effort to encourage and support community efforts to preserve and enjoy America’s priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the initiative include a greater shared knowledge about the nation’s past; strengthened regional identities and local pride; increased local participation in preserving the country’s cultural and natural heritage assets; and support for the economic vitality of communities. Hillsville’s application for membership was drawn up by New River Community Partners. Hillsville Town Manager Larry South expressed gratitude to the organization, as well as Bush for the town’s inclusion in the initiative. “We’re very appreciative of New River Community Partners in taking the lead in putting that application for the town,” South said. “The town is very thankful to the First Lady and committee to see fit to bestow the designation for us.” Others that helped Hillsville’s efforts to be included were U.S. Representative Rick Boucher, Sebert Sisson, Sen. Jim Webb, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New River Navigator, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the Hale-Wilkinson-Carter Home Foundation and the Carroll County Historical Society. Webb applauded Hillsville’s inclusion in the Preserve America initiative. “With many of my ancestors originally settling in Carroll County, I understand the important role that Hillsville has played in the history of Southwest Virginia and I am pleased the federal government has recognized this community,” Webb said in a statement. “The people of Hillsville will benefit greatly from this designation which will help to continue to preserve these historical assets for future generations.” As a Preserve America Community, Hillsville will receive a certificate of designation signed by Bush, signifying that the town’s status in the initiative. In addition, Hillsville can use the Preserve America logo on signs and apply for Preserve America grants, among other rights. In addition, South said it’s possible that Hillsville could receive a visitor from the White House, welcoming the town as a Preserve America Community. “There’s a good possibility that there will be a public ceremony from somebody from the White House or a representative,” he said. “We hope that’s the case and we look forward to it if there is.” South said the designation is something citizens of Hillsville should be proud of, and it further enhances the town’s Historic Downtown. “I think it is a plus for our locale, a plus for our citizens and it could open up some grant money,” South said. “More importantly, I think it opens up the uniqueness of Hillsville.”

News From Tom Perry

NEW! Click Here To Visit The J. E. B. Stuart Blog

Read about my recent trip to Augusta Georgia, my mother's hometown

New Series Of Books By Tom Perry Beginning In 2008

Notes from the Free State of Patrick Volume One

I am working on is a new series of local history books that I am calling Notes from the Free State of Patrick taking the title from Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. This book will have articles, blogs, speeches and photos of various topics relating to Patrick County Virginia and regional history. If successful I hope to bring out future volumes in this series yearly as well each spring. Here is the working table of contents for Notes from the Free State of Patrick
Foreword    Cobblestones on Crawford Avenue

One             Patrick County Native-American History

Two            Tale of Two Great Grandfathers:

                    J. E. B. Stuart’s Ancestors in the American Revolution

Three        The World War Two Plane Crash On Bull Mountain

Four          Patrick County People

Five           Patrick County History

Six             United States History

Seven          “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”

                   George Stoneman’s Civil War Raid Through Patrick

Eight          North Carolina History

Nine           Patrick County Oral History Project

Ten            Over The Rainbow: Patrick County History

Eleven        Virginia History

Twelve       Patrick County In The Vietnam Conflict

Thirteen     “If Thee Must Fight, Fight Well”

                    The Life of William Jackson Palmer

Fourteen      Reynolds History

Fifteen         “Makers of History”

                      African-Americans And The Civil War

Sixteen         Hokie History

Afterword    “Home”

Bibliography

Index

Other New Projects Underway

Images of America: Henry County Virginia

I thought I would write a few blogs to let you know about what I am working on historically. Recently, I sent in a contract to Arcadia Publishing to do a photo book on Henry County Virginia just like my Patrick County book published last year. Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the building fund of the Bassett Historical Center, a branch of the Blue Ridge Regional Library. I have collected over 1,700 photos for this book, which will only have 200 photos, so the multiple volumes of this book are possible as well. So far, the photos of Bassett, Fieldale and Martinsville dominate the submitted photo. If you know or have any photos that you might wish to submit just bring them by the Bassett Historical Center for scanning. This book will be my way of paying back the regional history library that has embraced me and my work on regional history. The cover will be known by the time of the next newsletter and I expect release in March 2009 to coincide with a symposium at the Bassett Historical Center. With the large number of photos acquired I expect to be able to print books on individual communities within Henry County such as Bassett, Fieldale and Martinsville at this time easily are doable.

Images of Patrick County Virginia Volume Two

Continuing a few thoughts about what is in the pipeline as far as book projects are concerned. I have been collecting photos of Patrick County Virginia for many years. Last year Arcadia Publishing brought out Images of America: Patrick County Virginia, which has sold over 1,000 copies so far, which is probably the biggest selling book on history in history of Patrick County. With that success I am working on a second volume of photos only that I plan to bring out later this year called Images of Patrick County Volume Two. My plan is to do a Volume Three on Patrick County Postcards and more such yearly books if people and I still have interesting photos that are willing to share. Volume Two Working Chapter Titles that are subject to change: Ararat and Willis Gap; Claudville, Kibler Valley and Meadowfield; Racing in Patrick County; Eastern Patrick County; Civil War; Soldiers.
If you have photos that you wish to contribute for future volumes just drop me an email at freestateofpatrick@yahoo.com

Images of Patrick County Volume Three: Postcards

Continuing with my discussion of projects in the works is Images of Patrick County Volume Three that will contain only postcards.

The chapters at present are as follows:
Circle M Zoo and the Dan River Queen
Eastern Patrick County
Fairystone
Woolwine
Mountain Top
Stuart, Virginia
Here, There and Everywhere
This book will probably come out in 2009. There are enough photos to do another photo book beyond this taking us up to a Volume Four of the Images of Patrick County series.

J. E. B. Stuart’s North Carolina Connections

“North Carolina Has Done Nobly”: J. E. B. Stuart’s North Carolina Connections
Continuing with several blogs about projects I am working on this week with one that those who know me will find humorous with my aversion for all things Tarheel. This book is something that I have been thinking about for many years. It will cover the many connections that James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart had to the Old North State. As he grew up along the border with North Carolina it was only natural like the people in Ararat do today they went to Mount Airy for shopping, church, mail and no doubt dancing at the Blue Ridge Hotel with Tarheels ladies. It will also focus on Stuart’s travels all around piedmont North Carolina in 1852 and 1854. What many do not realize is that many men from North Carolina served under Stuart in the War Between the States between 1861 and 1864 when Stuart lost his life fighting at Yellow Tavern. This book will on the scale of God’s Will Be Done: The Christian Life of J. E. B. Stuart and I hope it will illuminate in Mount Airy especially the connections that Stuart has with the community.

The Papers of J. E. B. Stuart

Continuing the never ending series of blogs about the projects I am working on. Over the last ten years I have been collecting and transcribing the letters, poems, reports and any papers written by James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart. This manuscript now over 500 pages long is now ready for the editing stage as most of the transcribing and typing has been completed. This project entailed going to the National Archives and looking for Stuart’s letters and reports from the United States Army. I visited libraries such as Duke, Chapel Hill, Charlottesville along with the Library of Virginia, Virginia Historical Society and the Museum of the Confederacy searching for letters and other materials such as account books, dairies, etc. Whether or not I ever get it published it will at least be in my papers at Virginia Tech a place where all his papers will be together in one spot in my collection. Over the years I have noticed that some are almost paranoid about books relating to Stuart coming out, but I do not subscribe to that sort of thinking. J. E. B. Stuart can more than speak for himself and in spending all these years I have never come across anything that would besmirch his reputation. I think that if I could ever get the permissions necessary and get this book published it would cause an eruption of new scholarship about Stuart, which I think would raise his reputation not belittle it. I do not see new knowledge being a bad thing and sharing it is the way to keep history alive.

The Soldiers Dream

Completing the never ending series of blogs about the projects I am working on I come to The Soldier’s Dream: The Life of J. E. B. Stuart, which is the working title of my biography on Stuart that I have been collecting material on for over two decades. This fall Jeff Wert will release a new biography of Stuart, the first in twenty-two years since Emory Thomas’s Bold Dragoon and I think that is great. Every generation should have a go at interpreting important historical figures. While few around Patrick County realize how important Stuart was as a leader of R. E. Lee’s cavalry in the War Between The States he will soon have six biographies written about him if you count W. W. Blackford’s War Years With J. E. B. Stuart to go with H. B. McClellan’s I Rode With J. E. B. Stuart, John Thomason’s J. E. B. Stuart and Burke Davis’s The Last Cavalier. This does not include all the other books by authors such as Robert Trout and the recent cavalry books by authors such as Wittenberg and Edward Longacre over the last few years and decades. So, why write a new book about Stuart because as funny as it sounds not everything has been looked at. Virtually untouched is Stuart’s time in the United States Army and those events that affected his Civil War career. I have discovered for instance when and where I believe the trouble began between he and William E. “Grumble” Jones. For new material produced during the war the Virginia Historical Society recently acquire two collections that have some important material such as the papers donated by descendants of Stuart’s daughter, Virginia, that included many important letters between Stuart and his brother William A. Stuart and the Flora Cooke Stuart papers that I knew must exist, but I had never seen. Another recent collection of material that may have Stuart’s name literally written all over it is the Robert E. Lee material that such new books such as Reading The Man by Elizabeth B. Pryor are based on. So, when someone says that there is no need for a new book I think he must not have looked on World CAT lately.

"Never attribute to malice what you can explain with stupidity" -- Hanlon's Razor

In the last month several events and projects have brought stories from previous newsletters back into the light.

With Big Brown poised to be the first Triple Crown winner in thirty years, I started thinking about past great horses. I have been to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington to stand at the grave of Man o’ War. I read about that great horse as a youth while staying with my paternal grandparents who lived just down Pine Street in Mount Airy, North Carolina at the Mount Airy Public Library. No movie was more enjoyable for me than Seabiscuit several years ago, but no horse stands larger in my imagination than the one born in Virginia. Sports fans often debate who the greatest athlete is at any given sport. In Virginia, you could argue that Bruce Smith was the best football player produced or that Curtis Strange and Sam Snead are the best golfers, but there can be little argument over the greatest athlete ever born in Virginia. A horse named Somethingroyal gave birth for the fourteenth time on March 30, 1970, at the Meadow Stable in Caroline County near Doswell, Virginia, between Richmond and Fredericksburg on land that Confederate and Union Armies fought over during the Civil War. Sired by Bold Ruler, the foal had three white feet, was chestnut in color and named Secretariat. In 1972, he came in fourth in his first race, but won five of seven starts. He crossed the finish line first in the Champagne Stakes but was disqualified and awarded second. The horse won almost half a million dollars and was named Horse of the Year unanimously. He was sold to a breeding syndicate for a record $6.08 million dollars. As a three year old in 1973, he won nine of twelve races entered, set or tied the track record at six of them, set the world record in two races and won over $800,000. He was the first horse to win the triple crown of racing in twenty-five years. At the Kentucky Derby, he ran each of the five-quarter miles faster than the one before. At the Preakness Stakes, he won setting a new track record and at the Belmont Stakes he won by 31 lengths and sat a new world record for the distance of 2:24 for 1 ½ miles. As a sire, Secretariat is more famous for his daughters such as Risen Star, who won the Preakness and Belmont in 1988 and 1986 Horse of the Year, Lady’s Secret. His great-grandson, Storm Bird, set the record for the highest stud fee of $500,000 in 2002 and is considered the most valuable stallion in the world. Secretariat was known for his playful nature. His biographer, William Nach, noted several stories such as the time he took a broom to sweep out his own stall and taking a reporters notepad out of his hand. At the age of 19, he came down with laminitis, a painful condition of the hooves, and was put down on October 3, 1989 and buried at Claiborne Farms in Kentucky. At the autopsy for the horse, they found that his heart was naturally two times the normal size. The big red horse truly had a big heart. ESPN recently had released a poll of the top athletes of the twentieth century and there he was 35^th and the only non-human. Thirty-five years ago this summer, I was twelve years old loved to watch the red horse with three white hooves and a checker board pattern of blue and white on his colors. Secretariat was the greatest athlete ever born in Virginia and was as my hero.

Some members of the The Rocky Knob Chapter of the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway are looking to trace the Appalachian Trail when it came along the northern border of Patrick County along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It reminded me of one of my favorite stories. In the spring of 1948, a young man walked along the Blue Ridge Parkway entering Patrick County near the Puckett Cabin. He proceeded up the hill towards present day Doe Run with flaming azaleas and dogwoods in bloom. He noticed Pilot Mountain in the distance and the small community of Ararat, Virginia at the foot of Groundhog Mountain. He veered off the road and crossed over the Pinnacles of Dan noticing the beauty of the Dan River and later wrote that this area was “the most rugged and most spectacular” place he walked that summer. That night it rained on him and he built a fire and the next day continued through Patrick County observing a gray fox with the sunlight glistening on its fur. That day he encountered a talkative farmer named Handy, who stopped his plowing to tell of his 200 acres and his family. He shared a dinner of “fried ham, spoon gravy…stewed apples, goat’s milk and real southern cornbread, the kind that is broken, not sliced” with the family. The young man declined an invitation to spend the night and proceeded on to Meadows of Dan. A storeowner told him of a shelter near Rocky Knob for hikers. He continued past Mabry Mill and like millions of others stopped to take a photograph. He made it to Rocky Knob and wrote, “I finally stumbled into Rocky Knob by starlight and found the shelter was of stone, open on three sides and with a cold wind howling through. I gathered some snags for fireplace wood and a sack full of leaves to cushion the stone floor. The temperature must have been around freezing.” The next morning Earl Shaffer, the first man to walk the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, found himself staring out over Rock Castle Gorge and the Woolwine area of Patrick County with Bull Mountain in the distance. The trail through Patrick County went south from Rocky Knob via the Mountain Mission School over to Lover’s Leap on Highway 58. From there it followed Ivy Creek and the Big Bend of the Dan River crossing the Pinnacles of Dan and over to Bell’s Spur before returning near the Blue Ridge Parkway and along that road to Carroll County. The Appalachian Trail began with the dream of one man, Benton MacKaye, who wrote an article in 1921 about a trail stretching the entire length of the Appalachian Mountains with actual building starting two years later. The Appalachian Trail Conference began in 1925 to coordinate the work of the individual local clubs that took care of different sections of the trail. The headquarters today is located in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. In 1968, Congress passed the National Trails System Act designating the Appalachian Trail as a National Scenic Trail. “County Agent for Floyd County” Mr. Shirley L. Cole apparently thought of the section through Patrick County in 1930. Myron H. Avery, Charlie Thomas and E. M. Wood marked the trail in February 1933, one hundred years after Jeb Stuart was born here. The AT was completed as a continuous footpath in 1937. Earl V. Shaffer of York, Pennsylvania, then 29, walked over 2,000 miles that year from Mount Oglethorpe, Georgia on April 4, to Mount Katahdin, Maine on August 5, 1948. He estimated it was over five million steps. He wrote about this journey in a book Walking With Spring. In 1965, he again walked the entire length of the trail going from north to south becoming the first man to walk the AT in both directions. By this time, the AT relocated much of the trail through Southwest Virginia farther north of Patrick County to avoid walking along roads and into the Jefferson National Forrest. In 1948, National Geographic writer Andrew Brown wrote an article about the AT. He mentions John Barnard of Patrick County, who took care of twelve miles of trail himself. The Barnard home is located near the intersection of Route 724 (Pinnacle Lane) and Route 614 (Squirrel’s Spur Road). Upon finding Barnard’s home, Brown was invited to spend the night. Brown wrote of sitting in a chair on the Barnard porch, “I tipped gently back and forth in a rocker. Black clouds banked up. It was quiet as a desert night. The shower broke and drenched the well trimmed lawn, the round bed of geraniums ringed with pansies, and the rose bushes along the fence. A spate of water gurgled down the drainpipes…Bowls of vegetables and stewed fruit, platters of meat, plates piled high with hot biscuits and corn bread, pitchers of milk and cream, jars of honey and homemade jam crowded the big table. There were squash, string beans, and mashed potatoes; hot veal and cold ham; applesauce and pears; and quantities of sweet farm fresh butter to slather on the hot breads. What a feast!” Next time you are driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Rocky Knob, go up to the Saddle parking lot with a view of Buffalo Mountain on one side and Bull Mountain on the other and walk back towards Rocky Knob along the green trail near the ridge. In just a few minutes you can climb up hill to the shelter that Earl Shaffer spent the night in during 1948 and you can see the vista he encountered when the Appalachian Trail came through Patrick County, Virginia. For a whimsical view of the AT today read Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. Thanks to Douglas Belcher for giving me this idea for an article and reminding me of Harry Truman’s maxim that “There is nothing new in the world. There is only the history you don’t know.”

If you have read this far I congratulate you. Last this month I want to let you know that I am not very happy with the organization I started nearly twenty years ago. The J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust Inc. If you are interested please read on. Read about the "Poor Stewardship" At Stuart's Birthplace

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Dr. Cory Joe Stewart

Covered Bridge Festival Saturday In Woolwine

Covered Bridge Donated To Bassett Historical Center

BOOK REPORT:

Hillsville Virginia Receives Preserve America Designation

Notes from the Free State of Patrick Volume One

Foreword Cobblestones on Crawford Avenue

Images of America: Henry County Virginia

Images of Patrick County Virginia Volume Two

J. E. B. Stuart’s North Carolina Connections