The Museum has been busy and will continue to be for quite a while to come. The Jamestown People & Places event co-sponsored with West of the Falls chapter of Colonial Dames XVIIth Century saw quite a turnout. Thanks to all who helped out and especially to Colonial Dames member and former Amherst County Museum board member Ruth McBride for coordinating such an informative and ingenious event! Watch for more Jamestown 2007 events to celebrate with us!
Find out more about your antiques and heirlooms by joining us on Saturday, August 26. The Museum membership’s annual meeting at Virginia Limeworks in Madison Heights on September 16 should be a real treat. We’ll be at the Sorghum Festival and go out for a van trip in the fall to see Amherst County history and geography. And more. Encourage your friends to join, too, so they don’t miss out on the fun!
Do you have any special antiques, family heirlooms, or even just an old curiosity about which you’d like to know more? Your opportunity will come on Saturday, August 26, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. when the Museum will be sponsoring an antiques assessment benefit. For $5 per item you can have a local expert tell you more about your antiques and heirlooms. Represented will be Lou’s Antiques, Estate Specialists and Blue Moon. As an added bonus, "Roving lecturer" Lyl Wray will be speaking on fun and fashionable ways to make the most of your treasures and enjoy them!
Jimmy Price of Price Masonry Contractors has perfected the making of lime mortars for preservation and restoration of historic buildings. His many projects include Poplar Forest, Montpelier, the White House, Virginia Capitol and monuments, cathedrals, and others. He has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects and received the Askins Achievement Award give by Preservation Trades Network. He is recognized as an expert in his field. He has appeared on the History Channel, HGTV, and other TV specials.
However, Mr. Price is one of Amherst County’s best-kept secrets, it seems! We are thrilled to invite Museum members to his business site for our annual meeting. The business meeting will begin at ll:00 with financial reports and review of past and future Museum events. After lunch, presentations of his work along with tours of his beautiful building will be enjoyed.
Directions: On the east side of Route 29, between Dixie Airport Road and Pete’s Auto Sales, it is the colonial style edifice facing the highway. Going south from Amherst, just past the third stop light, turn left.
Lunch will be $8.00. We welcome new members to join us. Please make reservations by September 9 by calling the Museum (946-9068).
With our new administrative year having just begun on July 1, two long time Museum board members are retiring. Ruth Mc Bride has been on the Museum board for many years and her business acumen has been a valuable contribution to the Museum. We will also miss Alice Powell whose creative energy and ideas have done wonders for the Museum’s fundraising programs. These two will be greatly missed, but have assured us that we will continue to see them at Museum activities!
Stepping in as new board members are Steve Martin, a local businessman and owner of Martin Paint & Body Shop in Amherst, and Martha Cox, an Amherst native, who has returned after following her husband on many moves in his Air Force career. Welcome to both Steve and Martha!
As the last of the history of Mount Olive’s exhibit is packed up, the results of the election of favorite songs are listed below. A total of 189 votes were cast:
And what will we vote for next? Favorite summertime activities! From swimming, picnics and playing ball to making ice cream and going on vacation, be sure to come by and cast your vote! There’s no age requirements, no registration required, and no limits on votes! This is a great way to teach the youngsters how the old election booths worked!
Shown above is the long handled scythe with an attached brace to accommodate its length. Donated by Bob Faught.
The above shown 1925 tax assessment ledger for the community of Elon donated by Richard Mundy of Forest, Virginia.
Frank Padget: A Superhero of the Bateau & Packet Boat Era
The newest exhibit in the Whitehead gallery is devoted to the James River Batteau Festival and the memory of Frank Padgett. Frank Padget’s life was difficult from its very beginning. Padget was born an African-American slave, yet he later became a bateau captain along the James River. Even though there were many obstacles for him to face in life, he faced them with bravery and tenacity. The ultimate test of his character took place on January 21, 1854. The area had experienced heavy rains in the previous days, and the rivers were high and fast moving. The canal boat Clinton was carrying rail workers and several other gentlemen to their job sites farther west, and was crossing the North River (now the Maury River) to the branch of the canal going to Buchanan when disaster struck. On that fateful day, the towrope of the canal boat Clinton broke, and the boat drifted down the James River toward the old Mountain Dam. Many of the passengers and crew, both white and black, gradually abandoned the boat and climbed onto rock formations in the river to escape.
While those select passengers and crew were abandoning the canal boat, others were arranging a rescue mission. They found a bateau and sent out a call for a volunteer crew. Padget, along with four other black and white canal workers, volunteered to man the bateau. Through his skill, and that of his crew, Padget was able to rescue the captain and the men on one rock, and the remainder of the passengers still on the boat. In a second attempt to rescue the one remaining passenger, two more volunteers joined the crew. The bateau reached the man and rescued him from the rock, but it struck another rock in the river shortly afterward and broke up. The five crewmembers made it to the safety of a rock, but Padget and the man he was attempting to rescue drowned.
As darkness fell that evening, other crews made two more attempts to rescue the five remaining crewmen. In the first attempt, the boat was swept away before anyone could board to begin the search. An old ferryman named Sam Evans led the second, successful, rescue attempt with a crew of six volunteers. The five remaining crewmen on the rocks were all rescued, though several were badly frostbitten.
One of the witnesses to the event on January 21 was a man named Capt. Edward Echols, a planter and slaveholder himself. Echols was moved so much by Padget’s sacrifice that he personally paid for a granite monument to his memory at the site of locks number 16 and 17 of the canal. However, "it is now on private property and not accessible to public view."
Recognizing the historic and cultural significance of Padget’s actions, on June 7, 2006, the Amherst County Board of Supervisors voted to sponsor the placement of a historical marker on State Route 130, in close proximity to the rescue site. Contributions by the public to help in this effort would be deeply appreciated, and should be received by September 30, 2006. Checks to help finance the marker should be clearly marked "For Frank Padget Historical Marker," and mailed to:
County of Amherst
P.O. Box 390
Amherst, VA 24501
Attn: Rodney E. Taylor, Administrator
Contributions are also being received at the Amherst County Museum and Historical Society, 154 South Main Street in the Town of Amherst.
Parts of this article were taken from a previous article by Mike Morrell, of the Amherst New Era-Progress.
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Local Historic Homes Accepted for Virginia Landmarks Registry
Oak Lawn and Edgewood have both been featured in the Museum’s Historic House Tours
Two properties in Amherst County, Edgewood (left)and Oak Lawn (right), gained acceptance by the Virginia Landmarks Registry at the registry board’s latest meeting and have been referred to the National Register of Historic Places for further honors. Both homes have been featured in the past on tours sponsored by the Amherst County Museum and Historical Society through the kindness and love for history of their owners.
Recognition at State and/or Federal level not only recognizes the inherent value of historic property, but may allow real estate tax benefits through easements for historic preservation. Eligibility for tax credits, grants, and technical assistance from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources staff for maintenance and rehabilitation projects are other assets derived through registry. There is no requirement that homes registered be open to the general public.
Edgewood
Edgewood was built on land near the Amherst Courthouse purchased in 1818 by Arthur B. Davies, an attorney who would become Clerk of Amherst County. He is said to have begun construction of his mansion facing the Old Stage Road in that same year. It stands at the corner of Garland Avenue and Main Street in the Town of Amherst, surrounded by mature hardwoods and magnolias.
Davies appears to have studied architectural styles in fashion at the time. His large brick home held ten rooms on three floors. A drawing room on the second floor had walls decorated with hand-painted murals influenced by French wallpaper patterns then in vogue. The extravaganza of elaborate styling and enormous size of the structure earned it the nickname "Arthur’s Folly." The murals included vivid scenes of a tiger hunt, elephants, and Chinese and East Indian people, hidden by later owners of the property under wallpaper until shortly after 1970. (Representatives of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center of Colonial Williamsburg studied them in 1973.) A later owner, Jesse Higginbotham, died in 1849 and left a sum to be used for an academy. His widow, Elvira Higginbotham, decided the house itself was the best site for the planned academy. In 1860, local attorney Taylor Berry purchased the home and the academy moved into the then new Mason Lodge.
Edgewood’s owners are Duncan and Janice Augustine.
Oak Lawn
Oak Lawn was built by Ambrose Burford on land he owned near Harris Creek in Amherst County. Interior architectural details indicate a date shortly before 1820. The property is located on Winridge Drive in Amherst County.
After Burford’s death in 1835, his estate inventory shows he owned blacksmith tools, three spinning wheels, and one loom and warping mill enumerated separately from household furnishings, indicating he had a blacksmith and weaving business in addition to supervising workers on his farmland.
The estate division in December, 1836, shows Sylvester Burford purchased the property from other heirs of the "mansion house tract of land." The transfer was completed in 1846 with a deed to Sylvester Burford and A. [Archer] Cox. Sylvester Burford had married Susan Cox in 1830, and they had seven children before she died in 1859. Burford registered a patent for a "wooden shoe sole" with the Confederate Patent Office. After the Civil War two of his daughters and Confederate veteran sons-in law continued to live in the house with him.
In ensuing years, grist and saw mills, a post office, mortuary, smithy, and grocery store were on the property at various times.
Oak Lawn’s owners are Dick and Janet Wills.
Historical Happenings
Amherst’s circle at the intersection of Main Street/Business 29 and Route 60 has been the focus of attention recently. Press releases in local newspapers describe it as the oldest traffic circle in the state.
The Village Garden Club’s most recent addition to the circle--an eighty-five gallon water fountain--is absolutely stunning. The garden club is dedicated to beautifying Amherst, and the flowers and fountain in the circle make it truly a centerpiece of Amherst County. This same group keeps the Amherst County Museum blooming.
- Amherst County Museum plans to be at Amherst Cheers, a new event for Amherst County. This event will be held on Friday evening, August 11, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the courthouse parking lot in downtown Amherst. Food and drink will be available, entertainment will be furnished by the Night Owls and many organizations will also be there to share information.
- Bedford County Historical Society will have their genealogy fair on September 9, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at 1633 Venture Blvd. in Bedford (Bedford’s CVCC campus). For more information call 540-297-7614 or email bedfordgensociety@hotmail.com. The Bedford Genealogical Society is at 201 East Main Street, Bedford, VA 24523.
- Nelson County Historical Society will present the program, Views of Camille, on August 18, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Nelson Center just south of Lovingston on Route 29. Tickets are $10 per person and includes heavy hors d’oeuvres and beverages. For more information contact Dick Whitehead at 434-277-8234 of Beth Goodwin at 434-277-5526.
- The Lynchburg Museum System is sponsoring a lecture by Dr. Charles Dew, on Saturday, August 19 at 2 p.m. at the Lynchburg Public Library. Asking Large Questions in Small Places: Slave Ironworkers of Buffalo Forge and Oxford Furnace, Virginia. For more info call the Lynchburg Museum System at 434-455-6226.
