Love him or leave
him Ken Burns will bring out his 15 and 1/2 hour documentary
on World War Two beginning on September 23 on PBS. His
documentary on the Civil War released in 1990 was one of the
most watched events in television history and helped to
spring board interest in the War Between The States that
helped us save J. E. B. Stuart's Birthplace. Although
criticized by many, Burns gets people interested in history
on a massive scale.
Seven Episodes:
Episode One: A Necessary War, Episode Two: When Things Get
Tough, Episode Three: A Deadly Calling, Episode Four: Pride
Of Our Nation, Episode Five: Fubar, Episode Six: The Ghost
Front. Episode Seven: A World Without War
The documentary THE WAR
explores the history and horror of World War II from an American perspective by
following the fortunes of so-called ordinary men and women who became caught up
in one of the greatest cataclysms in human history. This epic film focuses on
the stories of citizens from four American towns taking the viewer through their
personal and harrowing journeys, painting vivid portraits of how the war
dramatically altered their lives
Looking east from the "Little Pinnacle" towards the "Big
Pinnacle" and Sauratown Mountain.
The Indians called it “Jomeokee” meaning pilot or guide. In August 1854 Lt.
James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart had used it as just that, a guide, piloting his
trip around piedmont North Carolina and Virginia visiting friends and relatives.
One night he found himself camping on Pilot Mountain. Just out of the United
States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Stuart was soon to head west to
Texas to join the cavalry of the United States and seven years of service mainly
in the 1st U. S. Cavalry stationed in Kansas. Later that night a
storm filled with thunder and lightning woke the young officer, who would become
our region’s most important historical figure as commander of Robert E. Lee’s
cavalry in the War Between the States. Stuart thought of himself as a romantic
wrote down a poem dedicated to one of his six sisters entitled “The Dream of
Youth.”
While the dreams of a young man are nice to read about what can they do for us
today? History can be a force for economic growth in our region. Today from the
overlook at the little pinnacle you can see our entire region including the
Buffalo Mountain resting on top of the Blue Ridge plateau. The Buffalo is famous
due to another young man from Ararat, Virginia, just like “Jeb” Stuart. The
Reverend Bob Childress spent half his life at the foot of the Blue Ridge before
he moved on top to preach and build the six rock churches made famous in The Man
Who Moved a Mountain by Richard Davids.
Looking north
from the "Little Pinnacle." On a clear day you can see Buffalo Mountain from
here.
From the Buffalo to the Pilot is the region whose history I write about. I was
born in Mount Airy and grew up in Ararat, Virginia. Many people have come from
Patrick County to Surry County in North Carolina. Richard Joshua Reynolds left
Virginia to go to Winston to start a tobacco business, but he came to Mount Airy
to get a wife, Katharine Smith. The Ararat River itself flows from Bell Spur
Church in Patrick County down a mountain named after a groundhog to meet the
Yadkin River at Siloam. A railroad the Mount Airy and Eastern “The Dinky” ran
from the banks of the Ararat to the banks of the Dan River in Patrick County’s
Kibler Valley. The Native-Americans who named Pilot Mountain or the raptors that
migrate to it each year did not see the state line as a barrier and we should
not either. We have much common history and we should think regionally in
promoting each other. There is plenty of room for Jeb Stuart to walk the same
streets as the Siamese Twins and the fictional Barnie Fife.
While the focus is often on the Andy Griffith show as a way to bring tourists to
the area if you look just across the street from the statue of Andy and Opie is
one for George Stoneman’s Raid at the end of the Civil War that came through
Mount Airy on April 2, 1865, a week before Lee surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox. These were the first Yankees to visit the “Granite City,” but
judging from the tour buses on Main Street not the last. So, with this first
article on our region’s history along the model of Ruth Minick started years ago
I am reminded of another connection between Surry County and Patrick County. In
the 1920s Carl Griffith crossed the state line into Patrick County to marry
Geneva Nunn. Their marriage license is in the Patrick County Courthouse. You
probably heard of their son.
Looking south
from the "Little Pinnacle" towards Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Andy Griffith’s Patrick County
Connection
As a boy, I remember walking up Pine Street from my grandparent’s
apartment to Main Street in Mount Airy and having a hot dog at the Snappy Lunch
with my grandmother. I remember watching my grandfather get his haircut in the
City Barber Shop, now Floyd’s City Barber Shop, next door. To this day, I enjoy
a good watching of the Andy Griffith Show preferably with Don Knotts, while
color and Howard Sprague do nothing for me. Even Andy seems bored in those
shows.
Later, I took a class in Appalachian Studies at Virginia Tech. The
professor could not say enough bad things about Andy Griffith. Her thesis was
that every known stereotype to make Southerners look stupid was on display in
the show. She felt Griffith was cutting the people of Mount Airy with such a
sharp knife they did not even feel it. I wonder what she would think of the
plethora of tourists who visit every year in September for Mayberry Days.
Patrick County has a claim to the “Real Mayberry.” On the Blue Ridge
Parkway sits one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. Mayberry
Presbyterian Church is one of the rock churches of “The Man Who Moved a
Mountain,” the Reverend Bob Childress of Ararat ministered and worked
construction.
Just down the road is Mayberry Trading Post, where you can buy a
“Real Mayberry” T-shirt. They will tell you that Andy Griffith’s father would
bring him up here as a boy. Jerry Bledsoe’s book Blue Horizons about
biking the Blue Ridge Parkway tells of his encounter with Addie Wood on page 63,
where she sits the record straight that this is where Andy Griffith got the name
for the fictional town in his television show.
On July 11, 1925, Geneva, the daughter of Sam and Jopine Nunn of Patrick County,
received a marriage license along with Carl, the son of John D. and Sallie
Griffith, of Surry County, North Carolina. Andy Griffith’s mother was from
Patrick County and her marriage to Griffith is recorded on page 27 of Marriage
Register Book #5 in the Patrick County Court House. Two years later their son
Andrew was born in Mount Airy.
It is easy to criticize those who promote the idea of Mayberry. For
them Mayberry represents the wholesome, nostalgic and sanitized feelings we hope
our hometown will have. Mount Airy is like Hannibal, Missouri, where Tom Sawyers
and Becky Thatchers roam the street bringing the writings of Mark Twain to life.
Just like Hannibal, where the message of Huck Finn is ignored, there are only
white faces in Mayberry. It is not a real place with real problems. It is good
for the proverbial search for the tourist buck and there can be little down it
saved the downtown area from economic collapse.
Several years ago, I was present when North Carolina named Highway
52 the Andy Griffith Parkway. Like me and anyone who watched Matlock, Andy likes
hot dogs from the Snappy Lunch better than pork chop sandwich. Cagey as he was
as Sheriff Taylor, Andy Griffith hinted that the town Mayberry comes from his
life in Mount Airy. He never confirmed it, but I have a theory. I imagine an
actor in Hollywood in the early 1960s working with others to come up with the
idea for a show. The actor remembers as a young boy traveling with his father
and stopping in for a bottle of pop at a place called Mayberry. Shazam! (From a
previous newsletter.)
Tom Perry Opens Retail Booth in Stuart, Virginia
Booth #110 recently opened in the Just Plain Country Store in Stuart, Virginia,
is the place to purchase Tom Perry's books along with other books including hard
cover fiction, history, civil war and paperback books at reasonable prices.
Also, included is an exhibit about the seven men from Patrick County who lost
their lives in Vietnam. Click here to learn more about the Just Plain Country
Store Antiques and Crafters Mall
http://www.justplaincountrystore.com, which is located at 301 South Main
Street Suite A, Stuart, Virginia, (276)694-5556.
Perry Donates Photo Collection To Regional
Repositories
For Release August 1, 2007, Ararat, Virginia
Patrick County Historian Tom Perry is pleased to
announce a donation of over 14,000 photos and images to two regional libraries
including the Bassett Historical Center of the Blue Ridge Regional Library,
Mount Airy (North Carolina) Museum of History. The main collection is housed in
the Special Collections Department of the Carol M. Newman Library at Virginia
Tech, Perry’s alma mater, in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Patricia Ross, Director of the Bassett
Historical Center comments: "Tom Perry has completed quite a lengthy project and
one so important for anyone who has a Patrick County connection. These 14,000
plus photographs are an integral part of our area history and such a treasure.
We at the Bassett Historical Center are so fortunate to be one of the facilities
with whom Tom has shared his work, and will be sharing this wonderful project.
Thank you, Tom, for being the historian that you are and for always sharing
your research and exciting projects with others."
Linda Blue Stanfield, Director of the Mount Airy Museum comments: “The Museum is
very fortunate to be the recipient of such a massive collection of photographs
and images documenting the rich heritage of this region. We are indebted to Mr.
Perry for preserving a wealth of information for future generations and for
considering the Mount Airy Museum of History as a repository for his
collection.”
Perry said, “As I have no children of my own to pass
this down too, I began this collection of material over twenty years ago and
recently began to preserve the many years I have worked to preserve and promote
Patrick County history. I do not feel there is anywhere in the county that has
staff, facilities or the proper vision to preserve this material. I am sure
there are many people and groups who love to horde such material, bury it in
their own collections or use it for their own financial gain, but I believe it
should be available to the public and more importantly to people and groups who
are serious about working together to promote or region through our vast and
varied histories.”
The material includes over thirty compact disks with
over 14,000 images scanned or photographed by Perry. Include are topics such as
the Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad “The Dinky,” Patrick County topics such as
covered bridges, places on the national and state registers of history and
Perry’s soon to be released photo book and his writings on Patrick County in the
Civil War. There are Surry County North Carolina topics and several historical
related topics that cross the state line such as George Stoneman’s 1865 raid
through the area and history collected along the Ararat River, which flows from
Patrick into Surry County. All materials from Perry’s webpage
www.freestateofpatrick.com are included. The majority of the material
includes Perry’s twenty years working to preserve J. E. B. Stuart’s Birthplace,
Laurel Hill, in Patrick County’s most historic community of Ararat, Virginia.
Also included are materials relating to Perry’s travels and research all over
the country on Civil War General James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart.
Access to the material will be restricted and
researchers will have to have Tom Perry’s permission to publish or use the
materials.
Beginning this
fall Tom Perry will be exhibiting photos and other materials around the region.
First, a revolving exhibit will be at Perry's booth #110 in the Just Plain Country
Store in Stuart, Virginia, where Perry's books will be on sale beginning in
August. Each year an exhibit is carried around to local festivals. In 2007, an
exhibit on "The Dinky" Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad is being carried around.
This includes photos of the train when it ran and photos of the discovery of the
rails recently along with two topographical taps showing the route of the railroad. It
will be on display in the booth beginning in November. In August through
September an exhibit on Patrick County in the Vietnam Conflict will be on
display in the booth (www.freestateofpatrick.com/vietnam.htm).
It includes a shadowbox of rubbings taken from the Vietnam Memorial in
Washington, D. C. from the seven men from Patrick County who gave their lives in
Vietnam. Also, included will be material on one man who came back from Vietnam
to make a difference. This exhibit will be on display at the Patrick County
Branch of the Blue Ridge Regional Library in October for Veteran's Day and at
the Bassett Historical Center in December and January.
Patrick County In The Vietnam Conflict: Seven Men Who
Gave All and One Who Came Home
August-September and November 2007, Just Plain Country Store, Free State
of Patrick Booth #110.
October 2007, Patrick County Branch, Blue Ridge Regional
Library, Stuart, VA.
December 2007-January 2008, Bassett Historical Center,
Bassett, VA.
Two of the rubbings from Vietnam shadowbox to be displayed
this fall.
"The Dinky" Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad
December-January 2008, Just Plain Country Store, Free
State Of Patrick Booth #110.
Visit Tom Perry's Display About The Dinky Railroad At
The Following Events
August 23-25,
Antique Show at Rotary Field in Stuart, Virginia
September 1-3,
Meadows of Dan, VA (Mountain Meadow Farm)
September 8,
Bassett VA Heritage Festival
September 30,
The Hollow History Center Fall Festival, Ararat, VA
October 13,
Botetourt Heritage Festival, Buchanan VA
October 20,
Meadows of Dan, VA (Mountain Meadow Farm)
More Dinky
Rails Found
Craig and Jane Tesh,
owners of the Sparger House on Riverside Drive just north of Mount Airy
recently found more rails from the Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad "The
Dinky". Tom Perry hopes to take the rails to the Mount Airy Museum to
set up another exhibit like the one at The Hollow History Center near
Doe Run Church in Ararat, Virginia shown below.
The Sparger
House built in 1865 by Winston Smith for his daughter who married into the
Wolfensparger Family was the site of a tobacco factory. They later shortened
the family name to Sparger. A daughter Christine Sparger married into the
Marshall Family of White Plains. Craig Tesh descends from Christine Sparger
Marshall. Craig also descends from Joseph Alexander Tesh, who built many of
the Victorian homes in Mount Airy noted for their granite keystones above
the doors. He is credited with Trinity Episcopal Church, one of the oldest
buildings, built of granite, in the "Granite City."
Beginning in 2005, several of us set out on a journey to find the Mount Airy and
Eastern Railroad as it made a nineteen mile trip from Mount Airy, North Carolina
to Kibler Valley in Patrick County, Virginia along narrow gauge rails.
Affectionately called “The Dinky,” we found history and many new friends. During
the entire journey we never had an unfriendly landowner or any angry dog, but we
did find out that history is right before our eyes if we are willing to look for
it.
“A narrow gauge railroad is technically defined as any line where the distance
between the rails is less than 4 feet eight and a half inches." Between roughly
1870 and 1885, "narrow gauge fever" swept the nation under the pretenses that
the smaller equipment cost less, construction requirements were less stringent,
and therefore, were easier to finance and build. By far, the most common of
these narrow gauges was 36 inches, or rather, 3-foot gauge.
At the end of the
1800s and early years of the 1900s the railroad including the Mount Airy and
Eastern Railroad aided in an economic boom in Mount Airy with the granite,
tobacco and furniture industries. This modern marvel brought tourists and
industry on its narrow gauge tracks to the White Sulphur Springs Hotel along the
Ararat River. The railroad running from Mount Airy, North Carolina to Kibler
Valley was only the second railroad in Patrick County.
We believe the
railroad began with a Wye (Y) that paralleled the standard gauge railroad that
still exists today beside Cross Creek Apparel on Riverside Drive (Hwy 104) in
Mount Airy, North Carolina. “The Mount Airy and
Eastern connected with the Atlantic and Yadkin Railroad on the Flat Rock branch
near the granite quarry. The narrow gauge tracks were parallel to the standard
gauge tracks and freight was transferred from car to car. According to Gareth
McDonald, there was no evidence of moving cars from narrow gauge to standard
gauge trucks by lifting, as was done elsewhere with different gauge
interchanges.”
T. E. Houston chartered the rail
line on May 3, 1899. This rail service ran for 19.50 miles with only five of
that being in North Carolina. The first 15.75 miles to Goins, Virginia, opened
on February 1, 1900. C. B. Keesee of Martinsville, VA was appointed receiver on
May 4, 1901, as the business enterprise had not been successful. Under Keesee
the line was extended to Kibler Valley November 1, 1902, to serve a lumber mill
operated by Kibler and Kay. An extension to Stuart, Virginia, was surveyed in
1904 but never built.
Various owners
operated the track along the Ararat River, Clark’s Creek, Fall Creek and then
along the Dan River and into the Kibler Valley. The road was sold under
foreclosure on November 15, 1910 and purchased for $20,000 by the Rosslyn Lumber
Company, Inc. from northern Virginia. It was sold again on April 1, 1915 to
Sidney Bieber of Washington, D.C., who reorganized it without changing the name.
Bieber and some New York Associates had bought 12,000 acres of hardwood timber
lands in southwest Virginia and planned to use the railroad to deliver the
lumber. The Mayo-Dan Lumber Company was organized to handle this enterprise.
The later history of
the line is obscure, but the railroad stopped operations in the spring of 1918.
We believe that a flood in 1916 due to a hurricane or storms knocked out
operations along the Dan River. It was sold and reorganized as the Virginia &
Mount Airy Railway on February 6, 1920, but there is no evidence that it was
restored to operation. It was apparently liquidated in 1930.
Bassett Historical Center Building Fund $176,554.15 raised
of $800,000.00
Henry County
Civil War Roster Available at Bassett Historical Center
Henry
County in the Civil War, 1861-1865 is on sale by the
Bassett Historical Center Building Committee as a
fund-raiser.
Half the profits from this book go to the fund, to build
an addition to their great library. This book contains
the military records of Henry County Soldiers as well as
some letters and other articles of interest. If you
would like to
send a donation to
them, or buy a book to help them, you can contact Pat
Ross at
baslib@hotmail.com for more information.
"Always give your best, never get
discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate
you,
but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and
then you destroy yourself." --Richard Nixon
Tom Perry presents Brian Jessup, Treasurer of the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace proceeds from the sale of his book Stuart's Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm. Perry gave the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace $5 from the sale of each book the organization helped promote since the book's release in February.
FALL
PROGRAMS GIVEN BY TOM PERRY
"If Thee
Must Fight, Then Fight Well" The Life of Brevet Brigadier General William
Jackson Palmer
This talk
will focus on Medal of Honor recipient and Delaware native William J.
Palmer, who rode with
George
Stoneman on his 1865 raid through our area. Palmer, a railroad engineer
before the Civil War
went on to
found the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and built railroads amassing a
fortune after the war.
He retired
and left his estate to educational and service organizations.
November 7,
Civil War Round Table of Wilmington, Delaware.
Tom Perry with Otis D.
Alexander, Director of the Danville Public Library,
during the August 9
presentation of J. E. B. Stuart's Long Ride From Laurel Hill To Yellow
Tavern.
Photo courtesy of Wilford
Burson.
J. E. B. Stuart’s Long Ride From Laurel
Hill To Yellow Tavern
A slide
program begun in 2004 commemorating the 140th Anniversary of the battle that
took Stuart’s life.
Presented
by Tom Perry, Founder of the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust,
Inc. This
program given over a hundred times all over the country is used as a vehicle
to promote Patrick
County history and tourism. It covers James Ewell Brown's entire life from
birth in Patrick County on February
6, 1833, until his death in Richmond on May 12, 1864.
September 25, Kansas City, Missouri, Civil War Round
Table.
September 26, St Louis, Missouri, Civil War Round
Table.
September 27, Topeka, Kansas, Civil War Round Table.
October 6, Museum of Middle Appalachia, Saltville,
Virginia.
November 5, Montgomery County Pennsylvania Civil War
Round Table.
March 1, 2008, Bassett Historical Center Symposium
NEW J. E. B. Stuart Program
Coming To Star Theatre
Tom Perry and the Star Theatre
will be holding a program on Sunday, November 11, at 3 p.m. entitled "From
Laurel Hill To Yellow Tavern: The Life Of J. E. B. Stuart." This PowerPoint
slide program will include images and music from the Civil War era while
telling the life story of Patrick County's most famous solider James Ewell
Brown "Jeb" Stuart on Veterans Day in the historic Star Theatre in Stuart,
Virginia.
http://www.historicstartheatre.com
Copyright 2007 Tom Perry. No material to be used without permission.
