LoCoHistory

The Scottsville Museum is a hidden treasure….about 20 miles south of C-ville, but worth the trip. They have recently opened a new exhibit, titled “Small Town, Big War.” They have collected dozens of oral histories from Scottsville veterans who served in the war (conveniently transcribed and available in notebooks distributed throughout the exhibit). The photo shown here illustrates a reconstructed tent space of a U.S. Army communicator at a WWII command post. The exhibit is filled with interesting facts (like the microfilming of mail to US soldiers so that they could save valuable space on transport boats and planes, a.k.a. v-mail). Or a reconstructed Scottsville kitchen during WWII and the statistic that “victory gardens” provided 41% of the vegetables consumed by US citizens during the war (you can imagine what a miniscule amount of food today’s home gardens provide vs store-bought food). Pick a beautiful day and enjoy the scenic drive down to this well-designed exhibit. As an aside, this exhibit illustrates the importance of local county (loco) history for understanding larger cultural trends.

I had heard about the bird (Cardinal), the flower/tree (Dogwood), the dog (American Fox Hound), and the insect (Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly), but who knew we had a state fossil ? And no surprise, it’s named after TJ: Chesapecten jeffersonius. As the first colony, it seems fitting that Virginia would be given the first fossil to be described from North America (by Martin Lister in 1687). In short, it’s a bivalve mollusc of a fossilized scallop that is over 4 million years old (dating to the Early Pliocene Epoch). Note: while not technically “local history,” I figured the TJ reference was close enough to be included in this blog.

Today’s primary roads include Route 29 (N/S) and Route 64 (E/W). In the 1860s, the railroads paved the way for a reliable N/S trajectory, setting the route for the later highway (29 south). The E/W route was originally 250 (parts of which overlap with the 18th Century “Three Notched Road”). To understand 18th and 19th Century thoroughfares, you have to ignore modern-day 64 and 29 and look to the older routes. Before automobiles became the primary means of transport, the slope of the road was the most important variable in selecting a path. As a result, many of the historic roads lie on top of ridges, rather than in the valleys (to prevent the loss of altitude for as long as possible). These old routes contain hundreds of ruined cabins and agricultural features. As one local resident explains, they planted their orchards (especially apples) in the hollers and their corn along the steep edges of the hillside (terraced with stone walls). The former they sold for cash, and the latter was for consumption (for people and animals). A “holler” is defined as a narrow valley between two steep hills (often containing a small creek which provided drinking water).

The map illustrates one small segment of Albemarle County’s historic hollers (highlighted with orange lines) and the orientation of the accompanying steep hills and waterways. This area is referred to as the Ragged Mountains and originally extended from the Reservoir (seen in the north) all the way south to Covesville.

The Beth Israel congregation originally worshipped at the corner of Market and 2nd Street. In 1904, the government purchased the site from the congregation in order to make way for a post office. The old building materials were donated to the congregation and these materials were used to build a new structure at the corner of 3rd and Jefferson St. This building, in turn, burned in 1948, and the current building was rebuilt on the site. To learn more about the history of the Beth Israel Congregation, visit the on-line exhibit titled “To Seek the Peace of the City: Jewish Life in Charlottesville.” The interior of the synagogue contains an unusual series of windows that document the Biblical story of creation through stained glass.

UPDATE: 16 June at 2pm join Dr. Leffler for a tour of historic, Jewish C-ville. Tix are available from Anne Schwartz at 295-6382 or anne@cbicville.org (Adults $12, Children $8). Proceeds benefit the Congregation Beth Israel Preschool. (more…)

The next time you’re viewing a map of the county, look along its western edge and look for the “gaps.” Prior to construction of the Shenadoah National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway system, the Blue Ridge Mountains represented both a barrier and, through a system of highland valleys, a connection to the rest of the country. One such passage is named “Taylor’s Gap.’ Like most of the gaps, they are named after former residents. This one is named after Benjamin Taylor (d. 1809), his wife, Mary, and their family. Taylor’s Gap Road is located near their former homestead even though the widow left for Georgia in 1811 after her husband’s death.

This historic hotel wins the competition for most renditions of Jefferson’s profile: on their plates and doormats, just to name a few.

The Monticello Hotel is located directly opposite the courthouse. It was built in 1926 for $800,000.

One of its claims to fame was the “world’s largest searchlight,” mounted on top of the 9-story building and allegedly visible for 100s of miles. In the photo below (taken in 2007), you can see the spot where the searchlight was mounted (at the top of the building). The hotel closed in 1989 and was later renovated into condominiums. Ironically, the hotel was originally slated to be called the James Monroe, but the popularity of Jefferson, and his homestead, won out.

As you wander north of the downtown mall, start reading the slate signs mounted on many of the brick buildings and the sometimes hidden, grey metal historic markers. This area, centered around the courthouse, contains dozens of old buildings. One famous example is the Swan Tavern, built sometime in the mid- to late-18th Century. The original structure was described in the early 1900s by Mr R Henry Carr (who was then 83 years old). He remembered it as a wooden building, with double porches, and a large picture of a swan for a sign. The tavern was originally operated by John Jewett, who owned it until his death in 1802. One commentator theorized that Jewett is buried in the lot alongside his beloved tavern. Sometime in the early 19th Century the tavern was abandoned. Sometime after that, a corpse was discovered in the ruins of the building, placed there by medical students who were getting in a little extra hands-on time with dissection techniques. In 1832 the ruin was replaced by the brick stucture that still stands today at the corner of E Jefferson and Park (today, the Red Land Club).

Google Maps has recently introduced a wonderful new service: “mash-ups.” The idea harkens back to push pins (think old fashioned detective movies where they put in pins for crime sites to discern the pattern). In this case, the “push pins” are virtual, blue ones and the map base is Google Maps. Instead of colored pins, you click on the pin and a dialogue box appears. I have recently added this feature to the locohistory blog. For most entries I will post an accompanying “pin” on the map. For those reading the blog, it will be a good way to orient yourself as to the location of historic features in Albemarle County. For new readers who want an overview of locohistory, you can begin with the map page and click through some pins (each of which will contain a url for the accompanying blog post). To view the map, click here. To locate a site on any given post, click on “Map It!.” I welcome feedback on this new feature (or suggestions for improvement). Explore it!

Where does the name “hungrytown” come from ? (a) the Great Depression when hobos visited houses in a vain hunt for food, (b) from Hungarian settlers who lived in the hollows of Virginia, (c) from an indigent community living in the area, (d) from a family named “Hungry”. Unfortunately, I don’t yet know the answer to this question, although A, B and C have are all part of local lore. I would suggest that “c” or “d” is the most likely. “A” is not possible because the names appears on an 1875 map, decades before the depression. “B” is off the wall, I have never heard of 19th Century Hungarians in Albemarle County.

During the Revolutionary War, the Barracks (located west of the shopping center; today a horse stable) was a prison for British and German troops captured at The Battle of Saratoga in October 1777. They were originally imprisoned by Revolutionary forces in Massachusetts, but within the year they marched 628 miles to the more hospitable climate of Charlottesville, Virginia. The term “hessian” is a reference to the German mercenaries who fought for the British. Hence, the nearby housing development on Georgetown Road called “Hessian Hills.” Although no prisoner list survives, estimates suggest over 4,000 prisoners lived at the Barracks. By the spring of 1779, locals described the camp as a small town with a commissary store, a coffeehouse, and a theater. Despite these amenities, over 1,000 prisoners escaped between 1779 and 1780. Many of the German soldiers settled in the Shenandoah Valley and became American citizens.