LoCoHistory

For the past two years a committee has been working on restoring and researching the remarkable collection of 150 works of art painted by Frances Brand (1901-1990), a notable Charlottesville folk artist. She was also known for her work as a civil rights activist and as a world traveler. In the 1950s after serving as a major in the US Army, she retired and began studying painting in Mexico City. The painting shown at the right is a self-portrait. Eventually she chose a theme for her works, people who were pioneers in a given field or endeavor. She defined these “firsts” in broad terms, from the first female flag person on a Virginian road crew to the first female African-American police officer in town. Other “firsts” were more obscure, such as the first Charlottesville mother to use the Lamaze method. Her work was exhibited many times, most recently at the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society (click here for an on-line version of the exhibit).

Recently her grand-daughter, Cynthia Brand, initiated a discussion with the Department of Parks & Recreation Therapeutic Arts program to donate the paintings so that they could be displayed and inspire people of all ages. Several members of the community have joined forces to research and assess the condition of the collection so that it can be preserved for future exhibits. This effort includes private individuals, Cindy Brand, the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, the City of Charlottesville, the Perry Foundation, and the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (the last four groups generously donated funds to this project). Efforts are on-going to write the biographies of the people depicted in the paintings.

The committee needs YOUR help in identifying some of the paintings. While most were labeled with the name of the subject, the selections illustrated here have not been identified. If you have any idea who might be depicted please post a comment below. You will need to study the icons in the paintings to read the storyline that Mrs Brand intended. For example, the painting below is, most likely, the first Chinese (-American ?) accepted to UVA or perhaps the first Asian faculty member. The book he’s holding may also be related to his “first” accomplishment. If anyone can read the inscription that would be a helpful start. The portrait above him might be the first inter-racial couple in Charlottesville and the one above that the first African-American postal carrier in the city. These are just guesses, but hopefully the images will jog someone’s memory.

On some downtown structures history is writ large on the sides of old, brick buildings. The images below represent a small sample of the 19th and early 20th century advertising technique of painting buildings. See how many old store names you can locate on and around the mall this summer. A hint: the photos illustrated here were taken near East Water Street and 4th Street SE. Ironically, the brand-new building in the back of the “Chas King Grocers” building is “the Holsinger,” named after a famous, historic photographer.


For more photos of local graffiti visit the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society website which contains a photo essay by Glenn Rebholz. He photographed dozens of examples from downtown Charlottesville. His on-line exhibit is titled: Ghost Signs and Vestige Billboards. The accompanying report is on file at the historical society.

In honor of the upcoming holiday, I searched Albemarle County maps for roads named after the genus Meleagris, order Galliformes, i.e. “Turkey.” Road names are a great source of local history, often preserving family names, events, animal species (sometimes long since extinct, e.g. Buffalo Gap), and occasionally imaginative monikers (common in developments that select historically or romantically inspired names which lack authenticity). In my search for Benjamin Franklin’s “Noble bird,” I first located Turkey Sag Road and Creek (in Keswick). Does anyone know the origin of this name ? Next, I found Turkey Run Road in Stonypoint, also associated with a Creek. Nearby “Brock’s Mill Road” provides additional insight into the 19th Century neighborhood when, presumably, the Brock family ran a mill (most likely grain or lumber) along Priddy’s Creek. Moving to Mechum’s River, we find the non-domestic variant, M. gallopavo, at Wild Turkey Lane. But the most interesting setting was Turkey Ridge Road in the “Peacock Hill” neighborhood. Here we find an Acorn Lane, adjacent to the appropriately named “Shady Lane” and “Big Oak Road.” Down the road we find other fowl species at “Peacock Drive” and “Heron Lane,” with a partial bird at “Gooseneck Lane.” The edge of the neighborhood contains “Apple Lane” and the inexplicable “Zump Lane.” Itemize the road names near your house and see if you come up with a scene from the past, real or imagined.

Where is the statue dedicated to James Rogers McConnell (1887-1917)? Hint 1: it’s on the grounds of UVA. Hint 2: the statue is of a naked man, standing on globe, attempting to fly. Hint 3: the design is based on the Greek myth of Icarus (the son of Daedalus who flew too close to the sun with wings of feathers and wax).

Gutzon Borglum carved the statue in 1919 to commemorate a UVA alumnus (class of 1908) who was shot down over France during World War I. McConnell was an American but he enlisted in the French aviation drill called the Lafayette Escadrille. James McConnell was killed one month before the US entered the war (making him the last American citizen to die under French command before the US declared war on Germany).

McConnell also served in the American Ambulance service and UVA’s Special Collections holds 160 letters written by him during the war. There are several memorials dedicated to McConnell (at the site where he fell, in his home town, and in Charlottesville). The monument at UVA is located between Clemons and Alderman Library. In addition to the Icarus-inspired figure (flying towards the sky), the statue contains inscriptions and symbols, including “Soaring like an eagle to new heavens of valor and devotion” and the tribute to his final moments in the carvings above. To hear more about McConnell and Borglum’s statue, visit the Charlottesville Podcasting network and listen to a podcast hosted by Coy Barefoot, featuring local historian Rick Britton.

Before desegregation, the only Charlottesville high school open to African Americans was the Jefferson School. Built in 1926, the building is located on Fourth Street at the edge of the old Vinegar Hill neighborhood. The school opened several decades earlier, in 1894, as the nine-room, K-8 “Jefferson Colored Graded/Elementary School” (that building was demolished in 1959). An informal precursor to the school dates to the 1860s.

The first principal of the “Graded School” was Benjamin E. Tonsler (1854-1917). He received his degree at Hampton University and went on to serve as the principal of the Jefferson School for thirty years. In this post we highlight material culture that remains today to commemorate this man’s life and works. First, his gravestone was “Erected by the Alumni of the Jefferson Graded School and Friends” in his memory. His inscription reads “Gone But Not Forgotten.” This stone can be found within the Tonsler Family Plot in the Daughters of Zion Cemetery, located adjacent to the Oakwood Cemetery. Second, his house still stands on Sixth Street (behind the First Baptist Church on Main Street).

If we check the University of Virginia historic Holsinger Collection we locate a third memorial, a photograph of the funeral flowers brought to his house. And fourth, we remember his life in the name of the park located at the corner of Ridge and Cherry: Tonsler Park (the name was choosen in 1958). One man’s biography writ large around us, if we only take the time to notice.

To read more about the history of the Jefferson School, please visit a website that contains a link to a 46-page downloadable history that was compiled as part of efforts to nominate the school as a historic landmark. Preservation Piedmont conducted dozens of oral interviews with former teachers and students. Information on that project is available on their website.

Editorial note: I will be in the field for much of the next two months so there will only be occasional posts during this time. Don’t give up, in late August more regular posts will return. In the meantime, scroll through the “Archives” at the left and catch up on past locog’s or check out some of the links to other historical sites under the “links” menu at the top of the page.

Before I go, a post on summer vacation’s past: Fry’s Spring. Although hard to believe today, in the 19thC Fry’s Spring was at the end of the street-car line and, even earlier, was considered a country retreat. The “Fry” refers to James Francis Fry who was given 300 acres along Moore’s Creek in 1839 by his father-in-law. In 1875, Captain James A. Harris purchased a much smaller lot within the original boundary and it became a popular spot for leisure activities. Earlier, in the 1850s, the spring became known for its “healing waters.” With the introduction of an electric trolley in 1895, Fry’s Spring became even more popular and the owners introduced a dance pavilion, theater, and amusement park rides.
Other origins for modern-day names in this neighborhood: (1) James Fry built a house called Azelea Hall (hence the modern-day ‘Azelea Park’). (2) The Jefferson Park Hotel was built nearby in 1892 (preserved in the modern-day street name, Jefferson Park Avenue, usually shortened to JPA). The hotel burned in 1910 and was replaced by the current building associated with the Fry’s Spring Beach Club.

For more information the neighborhood and Beach Club, visit the Fry Spring’s Neighborhood Association, Charlottesville Community Design Center and the history section of the FS Beach Club’s website.

Park Street begins at E Jefferson (near the courthouse) and continues north to Melbourne Road (where it becomes Rio Road). Although Park Street contains beautiful homes, it does not contain a “park.” However, if you head north on Park St and cross the county line you will eventually reach a park (technically located off Rio Road) called Pen Park. This, however, is not the eponymous “park.” Rather, Park Street was named after Park Mill, owned by the same person who owned the plantation at Pen Park: Dr George Gilmer. Dr. Gilmer and his family lived at Pen Park from 1777 to 1800; many of these individuals are buried on the premise in a family cemetery. The mill was located along Meadow Creek. Today a sign marks the spot with its earlier name: Cochran’s Mill (built around 1754). All that remains standing today is the miller’s house, the mill has long since washed away (as it was located closer to the river, in the floodplain).

As an aside, variants on the name “Park” have been added within the last several decades to 2oth Century streets, such as “Parkway” and “Park Plaza.” These were not formal streets in the 19th Century. If anyone knows the origins of “Park Hill,” please leave a comment below.

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.

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.