LoCoHistory

The term “history” in locohistory can be defined in a number of ways. At its most basic, it is something that occurred in the past. For inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places it should be at least fifty years old. The study of “history” includes past peoples, events, structures, and landscapes. This week’s post considers a slightly more recent event that occurred in 1976: the creation of the pedestrian mall on East Main Street. The decision to prohibit cars from traveling (and parking) on a major thoroughfare was controversial. To demonstrate the utility of such a move, a smaller section (from the Belmont Bridge to West Second Street) was temporarily closed on April 13, 1971 and set up as a pedestrian shopping center. Still, the proposed mall project was variously derided as “Cole’s Hole” (the city manager at that time was Cole Hendrix), “Council’s Folly” and “Little Watergate.” Other sites have comprehensive coverage of the long road that was traveled before the completion of the mall and its even more gradual success as a social and shopping mecca. One excellent article is by John Yellig, available here.

In this post my mission is different: to encourage you to look down at the architecturally designed roadway and its bricks. The architect is Lawrence Halprin who specifically designed a brick walkway that would not detract from the surrounding historic, brick structures. Rather, he selected an unusual shape, 4” by 12” pavers, so that they would look artistic, not “institutional.” Halprin is a well known architect and is known for creating “landscapes available to all segments of society and generated on the basis of final user needs.” His 1976 artistic design has recently come under discussion as the City pursues options for renovating the downtown mall.

To listen to a podcast of public comment on the plan for the new bricks, visit the Charlottesville Tomorrow Website. There has been a lot of public input into the use of 7.5 million dollars to refurbish the bricks and if the money is to be spent, how to produce an aesthetically pleasing result on time and on budget.

But here at locohistory we wanted to take a different approach and see just how well you know your downtown mall. For the following exercise it helps to enlist kids as they are closer to the ground and more likely to be successful in completing the following challenge. Or you can add this treasure hunt to your weekend pub crawl and see who finishes first. Directions for the First (and quite possibly final seeing as they may be removing these bricks in 2009) Annual Downtown Mall Brick Challenge: Begin at the Omni, face east (towards the Pavilion). See how many of the brick “hot spots” you can find (numbered throughout this post). Don’t forget to look up and watch out for pedestrians and the cars at the two drive through crossings. For bonus points, complete this challenge from memory and see if you recognize any of these spots. Good Luck!

Much of local history lies in front of our eyes, but goes unnoticed. This is not the case with the Taylor Family. The Martha Jefferson Neighborhood Association and Hospital combined to sponsor a marker that commemorates an African American family that has lived in the neighborhood for over 150 years. Quoting from the marker, “The land was originally part of a 25 acre parcel purchased in 1869 by Fairfax Taylor (1816-895). A former slave who bought his freedom and was the first black land owner in this area. Another member of the family, James T.S. Taylor (1840-1918) was active in politics and a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1867. Both were prominent members of the First Baptist Church and the community. As of this date [1993], their descendants live on family land in one of the three original Taylor houses.” The photo below illustrates one of the original Taylor homes. Unfortunately, the street is no longer called “Taylor.” Instead, the marker lies along Lexington avenue, just north of the Maplewood Cemetery.
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I am back from the field (an Assyrian city in southeastern Turkey which I assist in directing an archaeological excavation). I plan to return to once or twice a week postings. This week’s post is broad in its scope: animals from the past, focusing on the use of animals in place names. One can imagine the 18th and 19th Century flock of pigeons that lent their name to Pigeon Top. Or the herds of buffalo that once roamed the Piedmont, today only preserved as a geographic entity: Buffalo Meadow; the lodge of beavers that resulted in Beaver Dam; the brace of bucks memorialized in Buck Mountain; the sleuth of bears at Bear Creek; the gang of Elk in Elk Run; the pack of Wolves at Wolf Trap Mountain (today known as Edgehill Mountain); a volery of birds at the Birdwood Golf Course; a plague of locusts at Locust Grove. We need to update this list for the 21st Century with a labor of moles, a bevy of otter, and a muster of peacocks. For more trivia on clusters of animals visit: Fun with words: collective nouns.

I cannot end this post without a nod to a 21st Century animal sighting website: www.beaverlikemammals.com. Well worth a visit if you have ever asked the question “Hey, is that a beaver?” Oddly enough, after visiting the site last week, I have seen 3 BLMs.

Today, the Vinegar Hill Theatre and Vinegar Hill Shopping Center are some of the only landmarks that preserve the name of an historic 20-acre neighborhood, previously located in a triangular area roughly bounded by West Main, Preston, and 4th Street. Up until the 1960s, Vinegar Hill was a thriving African-American community. The eastern edge of the community lies under today’s Omni Hotel (#3 in the photo). The two photos illustrate the neighborhood before demolition (in 1957) and after (in 1966). The Jefferson School is #5 and #1 indicates the neighborhood itself. For comparison, I have added a red circle (the site of the Lewis & Clark Statue on Main St) and a feature highlighted in light blue in each photo. There are several useful on-line sources that document the history of this neighborhood: an IATH project, Blair Hawkins’ blog on a recent presentation about Vinegar Hill history given by Dr Scot French and Dr Reginald Butler, a UVA site with historic photographs, and a Cavalier Daily article on Vinegar Hill reporting on a play written by Theresa Dowell-Vest. For a slideshow of photos from the neighborhood, visit the Albemarle County Historical Society website.

This post is in honor of new book on the neighborhood, In the Streets of Vinegar Hill, written by Mr. James A. Williams, Sr.

P.S. There is no consensus for the origin of the name: Vinegar Hill. Options include: (1) a tannery (that might have used vinegar to tan animals hides); (2) a tribute to the site of a fierce battle during the Irish rebellion of 1798; (3) a reference to bootlegged liquor. Have you heard other explanations ?

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.

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.

How many times have you driven by the county office buildings/Bodo’s on Preston and wondered what the Gothic-looking mansion was originally ? I’m referring to the H.C. Marchant Manufacturing Company. In a 1906 “illustrated edition” of the Daily Progress, the plant is described as “devoted exclusively to the manufacture of overalls and coats of every grade.” Amazingly, the building contained 6,325 square feet of office space and originally employeed 75 workers. Alas, the article concluded that “the future of this company is undoubtedly assured.” While that does not appear to be the case, it’s admirable that their motto was “No Skimping,” with an emphasis on the “best material,” “full cut,” and “honest make.”

I’m pretty certain that the owner of the building is the same Henry C. Marchant who owned the mill in Woolen Mills. To the right is an example of their letterhead (from a letter dated 1878). H.C. Marchant’s name and title “President” is highlighted in the upper left-hand corner and the advertisement promises “cassimeres (sic), cadet grays, suitings, Kerseys, etc. etc.” Does anyone know what a Kersey is ?

Following on the fruit theme from the last post, what is 1,307 acres, 179+ years old, and 14 miles south of C-ville ? Answer: The Covesville Historic District. Created in 2005, the district includes 90 “primary resources” (buildings or features that have historic significance) that date between 1750 and 1954. Many of these buildings illustrate Greek Revival and Federal styles.

The Peyton Map illustrates the significant structures as of 1875. Note the Cove Chapel (today the Cove Presbyterian Church).

As the name suggests, Covesville was one of the most successful commerical apple orchards in the state of Virginia. Today, one of the most visible historic structures is the Covesville Antique Store. The store was built prior to 1910 by the Boaz Family to sell the annual crops of apples and apple-products. The store was known for its smoked ham and for being racially integrated as early as the 1930s. In 2002, the store was bought by Sarah and Rick Ovenshire and has been renovated and re-opened as an antique store and country store.