LoCoHistory

Which Virginia wine goes best with squab ? One of the many valuable tools available to historic researchers are the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Recently, UVA Special Collections posted the 1907 and 1920 Sanborns in a searchable format. There are 100s of forgotten treasures in these maps. One is a Pigeon Aviary, located in Belmont. In 1606, pigeons were introduced to North America for their homing skills and for consumption. Hence, the Colonial Era menu item: squab pie (from the meat of young pigeons). Incidentally, when sharing the location of the former Aviary (titled “Squab Plant” on the map) with a current Belmont resident, he noted that he sees dozens of pigeons at that spot, sitting on telephone wires. While clearly not the same pigeons, many pigeons have a nesting instinct that tethers them to their birth site which, in turn, made them well suited for training as message deliverers during time of wars. Who knows if today’s “city doves” are the descendants of the Flapper Era pigeons ?

What is 980 acres, 4 miles long, and contains sassafras and witch hazel ? If you guessed one of C-villes many wonderful parks, you’re on the right track. Today, the Ragged Mountains contain hiking trails, two lakes, and several historic structures. The one in the photo to the right is located along one of the original dams. Please submit a comment if you can explain why it rests atop so many courses of rocks. The original reservoir was built in 1885 due to an increased demand for water from the city and university.

Two hundred years earlier, Edgar Allen Poe featured this locale in a story by the same name. In it, a person named Bedloe seeks solace in the “wild and dreary hills.” I advise reading Poe’s atmospheric “A Tale of the Ragged Mountains” (1844) before you go (and grabbing a RMNA Trail Map). To enjoy Poe a little closer to home, visit Poe’s former dorm room on the UVA campus. Poe entered UVA in 1826, but was expelled within the year for not paying his debts. During his short sojourn in Charlottesville, he and a mysterious friend named Nella were seen hiking in the mountains mentioned above. To see a hand-colored black and white photo of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir in 1920 from Dave Norris’ historic postcard collection, visit his blog, Cville Dave.

Why are some brick buildings decorated with metal stars ? In historic brick construction, the end of the floor joist rests on a ledge only inches wide. Over time, gravity and the weight of the building cause the walls to bow outwards. This, in turn, causes the joists to slip off their ledges. To prevent this, a tie rod is laid from one end of the building to the other, drilled into either end. These rods are secured by nuts and washers. Because these would be visible from the outside, many older buildings have decorative “washers.” The star is a common example.

If you look closely, you will see the nut in the center of the star and notice that the distribution of the “stars” corresponds to the level of the floors. There are dozens of stars on buildings throughout C-ville. My guess, however, is that some buildings in C-ville do not have a structural need for this, but rather install them as a decorative element to emphasize their historicity. Can you locate this star’s building near the downtown mall?

Quick quiz - where is Albemarle’s only statue of a Native American woman ? (Please email me if you know of others!) She is hard to see, because she’s kneeling behind two men. But if you look closely at the Meriwether Lewis and William Clark statue at the intersection of West Main & Ridge Street (in downtown C-ville), you will see the Shoshone woman. Sacagawea, along with her husband Charbonneau, joined the Lewis & Clark Expedition in 1804, to serve as a translator. Visit the SacajaweaHome website or enter in her name in the search field at the on-line Journal of Lewis & Clark for first-hand accounts about her from the Lewis & Clark diaries.

The Charlottesville memorial is offically titled “Lewis and Clark Memorial,” neglecting Sacagawea all together. It was presented to C-ville in 1919, designed by Charles Keck and financed by Paul Goodloe McIntire. Take a closer look at the base of the statue for a glowing description of the westward mission and iconic images that illustrate their journey (notice the direction that the three figures are facing). To read the official description of the statue, click here.

The atmospheric photo of the Rivanna is provided courtesy of Bill Emory. His blog provides wonderful images of local resources, both cultural and natural. In the past, rivers provided an important route for travel. If you imagine the county without Route 29 and envision 250 as its muddy/rocky predecessor, Three Notched Road, you can appreciate why an unobstructed waterway would be a desirable alternative for moving people and goods through the county. The main river in Albemarle is the Rivanna River. It originates in the Blue Ridge (at altitude) and then flows down, to the east, and eventually joins the James River (that connects to Richmond and then empties into the Atlantic). Prior to the arrival of Europeans, indigneous groups built villages along the river. The river is named after Queen Anne (1665-1714) who reigned as the Queen of England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1702 and 1714. William Keppel (2nd Earl of Albemarle, see earlier post on this blog) was Queen Anne’s godchild, hence his middle name “Anne.” If you are interested in helping conserve the river, visit the Rivanna Conservation Society homepage.

Today the river can be enjoyed by canoeing or walking along its banks on the Rivanna Trail. If you look closely as you canoe or hike, you will see the remains of dams, locks, and bridges that once supported the vital trade in agricultural goods by enabling boat travel along the river’s course. These boats, referred to “bateaux,” the French word for “boats,” were specifically designed to carry heavy weights and navigate shallow waters. Prior to the creation of canals (circa 1840), the James River bateaux were the most common means for transporting hogshead of tobacco to market. Scottsville holds a “Bateaux Festival” each year with reproductions of these boats. In 2007 the “Batteau Night in Scottsville” will be held at 4pm on June 20th. Visit the Scottsville Museum Website for more information.

Since this blog is focusing on historic periods (roughly post 1700), I won’t have the space to describe the indigenous populations in great detail. But I will occasionally discuss the historic records that document the presence of the Monacan people in the region (who arrived long before the European settlers). For example, Captain John Smith’s 1607 map of Virginia indicates a region inhabited by “Monacans.” This map includes a reference to Monasukapanough, located along the Rivanna River near the present-day Polo Grounds Road. Over 150 years later, in 1788, Thomas Jefferson published his Notes on the State of Virginia. In it, on page 102, he refers to the Monacans, attempting to trace their linguistic heritage. His fascination with their language and material culture may have begun as a boy when he (unknowingly) played across the river from Monasukapanough at the home of his boyhood friend, Dabney Carr (today the location of the Carrsbrook subdivision off Route 29). A couple pages later, Jefferson describes his excavation of an Indian Burial mound which he calls a “barrow” which later earned him the sobriquet “father of American archaeology” (his digging techniques reveal a sophisticated understanding of archaeological stratigraphy, post-depositional forces, and faunal taphonomy). In addition, he recalls an event that he witnessed in the 1750s: “…a party passing…through the part of the country where this barrow is, went through the woods directly to it, without any instructions or enquiry, and having staid about it some time, with expressions which were construed to be those of sorrow, they returned to the high road, which they had left about half a dozen miles to pay this visit, and pursued their journey” (p. 106). Jefferson’s observations represents a rare, first-hand, recorded account of Native American rituals in Albemarle County. To the right is a 19th Century representation of a Native American burial mound.
For more information on the Monacan Village, visit, http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/encounter/projects/monacans/Overview/index.html
To read more about Jefferson’s observations of Native American features and customs go to: http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefVirg.html
To learn more about the Monacans, visit their museum in Amherst or take a Virtual Trip.

Place names often provide historical clues. For example, the County is named after Willem van Keppel, the second Earl of Albemarle. The Earl (1702-1754) was a British diplomat, Colonel, and later governor of the colony. The county was formed in 1744, but the current boundaries date to 1777.

Originally, the county seat was in Scottsville, but it was moved to Charlottesville in 1761. Charlottesville is named after Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), the wife of George III of England. Her direct descendants include the current Queen of England, as well as Queen Victoria. Her husband reigned as King of England, and thus ruler of the American colonies, during the last decade before the American Revolution. Accordingly, the citizens of Charlottesville chose the name of the then ruling Queen for their newly created village.

Welcome to LoCoHistory! A website dedicated to exploring local history in Albemarle County, Virginia.