This Sunday the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society (ACHS) hosts an open quarterly meeting, for members and the public. The event is scheduled for Veteran’s Day, November 11th, at 2pm in the Emmanuel Church in Greenwood. The meeting will include the ACHS Annual Report, elections of officers, and an illustrated talk on the tree industry by Tom Dierauf (formerly with the Virginia Department of Forestry). After the talk there will be a chance to tour two lumber companies: Yancey (the origin of the name Yancey Mills) and J.B.

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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.

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One of the wonderful things about living in central Virginia is the beautiful fall weather, perfect for exploring back country roads. Along a recent trip, I came across a 100-year-old African-American Church: Mountain View Baptist, located in downtown Batesville. Located on a steep hillside, the original stone foundation and steeple lie in the center. While there is no contiguous cemetery, an historic black cemetery lies about half-a-mile to the north of the church, adjacent to the Wild Rose Cemetery.

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Push the play button to hear a recent radio interview with Coy Barefoot, featuring Dr Lynn Rainville. In this 13 minute podcast they discuss Rainville’s work at an ancient Assyrian city in Turkey, historic African-American cemeteries in central Virginia, and this blog.Tune into Barefoot’s regular program, Charlottesville Right Now, on WINA 1070 from 4 to 6pm, Monday through Friday. Thanks to Sean Tubbs and the Charlottesville Podcasting Network for providing the audio.

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The first post on this blog was about Monasukapanough, a Native American village located along the Rivanna River. This Sunday the Quarterly Meeting of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society will be held in the neighborhood of the archaeological site. Please join us at 2pm on September 23rd at 1701 Bentivar Drive for a talk given by Dr. Hantman (University of Virginia) and honored guests, members of the Monacan Indian Nation. Visit the ACHS website for directions and more details.

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Visit the Albemarle County Historical Society for their newest exhibit titled: **The Story of Albemarle’s Trees and her Forest Industries. ** Quoting from the historical society website: “Trees were an integral part of early settlers’ lives and work, and they fueled one of Albemarle’s most important industries–lumber. The story of the trees–use, overuse, and conservation–is the story of the growth of the County, both socially and economically.” This exhibit contains an array of material culture that pertains to forest products: from split-oak baskets to locally-made oak chairs, from wooden slats to forestry tools, from photographs to advertisements from area timber industries.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Which C-ville landmark is referred to as “central place.” Could it be the Courthouse ? UVA ? Main Street ? The correct answer is the fountain located in the middle of the downtown mall. The fountain was designed, in part, to commemorate the wells that once lined Water Street and other downtown roads (see the earlier post on Wells along Water Street). Designed by Lawrence Halprin, the fountain contains 3 concrete structures.

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As mentioned in previous posts, the Division of Historic Resources places gray and white signs at sites of historic interest. Charlottesville has dozens of these signs, commemorating battles, individuals, historic structures, and gravesites. The idea is to draw attention to historic spots. This becomes slightly problematic when the historic sign is miles from the site itself. It’s similar to finding a sign “to I-64” on an Albemarle County road when you know darn well that the entrance ramp is a dozen miles away.

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Construction in historic Charlottesville can sometimes net unexpected results. Recently, City workers were digging off the downtown mall and came across an odd piece of wood. Because they took the care to stop and remove the artifact in one piece, we get a glimpse into 19thC water technology. The artifact is part of an old well. The wooden piece is the bouyant part within the well (floating in the water). The accompanying metal pieces secure the wood within the well and allow it to open and close the opening to the well.

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What has 3-feet thick walls, reinforced steel doors, an iron cage, and is surrounded by an 18-foot high wall ? A good guess would be the 1876 Charlottesville Jail (the first Albemarle County Jail was built in 1749). You probably drive by the jail frequently, without noticing it. It sits behind the juvenile court offices, off E High and Park Street (near Hedge Street). Inmates were segregated by gender and race, with a 30-minute window for visitors, from noon until 12:30.

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After recently apologizing for slavery, the University of Virginia created a committee charged with researching the enslaved and Free Black community at the university. Although these individuals are not (yet) featured prominently in histories of “Mr Jefferson’s University,” they provided much of the labor that constructed the original buildings, ca. 1819-1828. And, up until Emancipation, many professors and students lived with enslaved individuals on grounds. In addition, throughout the 19th Century, the university was surrounded by several African-American neighborhoods (e.g., Canada, located south of Cabell Hall and the site of the Foster House and Cemetery).

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Although there are 100s of hotels in Charlottesville today, one of the most historic is the Gleason Hotel (today referred to as the Old Albemarle Hotel). Located on Main Street, near the Amtrak Station, the building has been repainted in a bright yellow, with white trim. The hotel was built in 1897 by Michael S. Gleason for $12,000. Next door, Hase’s Imperial Cafe was built for $3000. The name “Albemarle Hotel” dates to the 1930s when the original owners went bankrupt and sold the hotel.

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If you look carefully, you will notice that downtown historic structures occasionally have a metal plaque next to the door. The one shown below is at 111 Main Street, the former residence of John Vowles, dating to the 1820s. These metal plaques were provided by fire insurance companies as a proof of purchase. If the home (and all of its papers) burned down, the plaque would remain to prove that the homeowner had purchased insurance.

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Albemarle County has many wonderful historic sites, one of the rarest is the last of two remaining pole ferries in the country (located just south of Scottsville). You can ride across a section of the James River on the Hatton Ferry, for free, between mid-April and October. The ferry was used by merchants and farmers who paid to travel back and forth across the river, from Albemarle to Buckingham County. Traded items included: wagons, buggies, horses, cattle, sheep, farm equipment, lumber, and farm produce.

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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).

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As a tribute to the current “colony collapse disorder” among contemporary bees, I thought I would add a note about 19th Century bees in Albemarle County. An 1888 handbook, published to encourage “industrious farmers” to settle here, contains a chapter on “bees and honey” (pp. 48-51). William Dinwiddie’s summary describes “improved smokers,” “movable combs,” and “Italian queen bees.” He encourages everyone to get involved in beekeeping to discover the “delightful and profitable employment in it.” Moreover, he found it strange “that everyone who has a home in a region productive of honey, should not engage in its production; at least so far as to secure for his own table an abundance of this - nature’s own most delicious sweet.” So consider bee-keeping as a possible hobby this summer.

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