USA > Virginia > Bedford County > Bedford County > Historical sketch: Bedford County, Virginia, 1753-1907 > Part 8
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The sheriff, treasurer, commonwealth attorney, and clerk of the court are elected by the people. The commissioners of revenue and the land assessors are appointed by the Judge of the circuit court, who is elected by the legislature, and holds four regular terms of his court at Bedford City during the year. There are nine school districts in the county and twenty-seven school teachers, who are elected by the school teachers' Elective Board, each district having three trustees, who have charge of the free schools in their respective districts. They elect the teachers, fix the salaries, build and repair school houses, etc. The overseer of the poor house for the county is elected by the board of supervisors, as is also the county surveyor and the road commissioner, or engineer, who has charge of the public roads of the county, under direction of the board of supervisors. The duties of the clerk of the court and the justice of the peace have been greatly enlarged since the county court system was abolished.
TOWN
The town of Bedford City, Virginia, is incorporated and under its charter elects its own officers, viz. : A mayor, eight councillors, a recorder, and town sergeant. The superintendent of the electric plant, policemen, and the superintendent of the water and street forces are elected by the council. The council fixes the tax rate and license fees.
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
NEW LONDON ACADEMY BOARDING DEPARTMENT
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
INTERESTING REMINISCENCES
New London, eleven miles southwest of Lynchburg, at first the county seat of Lunenburg County, on the formation of Bedford County, in 1753, was made the county seat of the latter. Still later, under the old district system, the supreme court was held here. Here it was that the orator, Patrick Henry, delivered his celebrated speech in the John Hook case. Through the inimitable delineation of Wirt, the ludicrous refrain of Henry, "Beef, beef, beef," is almost borne to the ears of the present generation, as are counsel and plaintiff thus immortalized, to their mental vision. "Hook was a Scotchman, a man of wealth, and suspected of being unfriendly to the American cause." During the distress of the American army, consequent on the joint invasion of the armies of Cornwallis and Phillips in 1781, a Mr. Venable, an army commissary, had taken two of Hook's steers for the use of the troops. This act had not been strictly legal, and on the establish- ment of peace, Hook, under the advice of Mr. Cowan, a gentle- man of some distinction in the law, thought proper to bring an action of trespass against Mr. Venable in the district court of New London. Mr. Henry appeared for the defendant, and is said to have disported himself in this cause to the infinite enjoy- ment of his hearers, the unfortunate Hook always excepted. After Mr. Henry became animated in the cause, says a correspondent (Judge Archibald Stuart), he appeared to have complete control over the passions of his audience. At one time he excited their indigna- tion against Hook; vengeance was visible in every countenance. Again, when he chose to relax and ridicule him, the whole audience was in a roar of laughter. He painted the distress of the American army, exposed almost naked to the rigor of a winter's sky, and marking the frozen ground over which they marched with the blood of their unshod feet. "Where was the man," said he, "who had an American heart in his bosom, who would not have thrown open his fields, his barns, his cellars, the doors of his house, the portals of his breast, to have received with open arms the meanest soldier in that little band of famished heroes? Where is the
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
man ? There he stands! Whether the heart of an American beats in his bosom, you, gentlemen, are to judge." He then carried the jury by the power of his imagination to the plains around York, the surrender of which followed shortly after the act com- plained of; he depicted the surrender in glowing and noble colors by his eloquence. The audience saw before their eyes the humilia- tion and dejection of the British as they marched out of their trenches ; they saw the triumph which lighted up every patriot's face, and heard the shouts of victory and the cry of "Washington and liberty !" as it rang and echoed through the American ranks. and reverberated from the hills and shores of our neighboring river. But, hark, hark, what notes of discord are those, which disturb the general joy, and silence the acclamations of victory ? They are the notes of John Hook hoarsely bawling through the American camp, "beef, beef, beef." The whole audience was con- vulsed. A particular incident will give a better idea of the effect than any general description. The Clerk of the Court, unable to command himself, and unwilling to commit any breach of decorum in his place, rushed out of the courthouse and threw himself on the grass in the most violent paroxysms of laughter, where he was rolling, when Hook, with very different feelings, came out for relief into the yard also. "Jemmy Steptoe," said he to the clerk, "What the devil ails you now?" Mr. Steptoe was only able to say that he could not help it. "Never mind ye," said Hook, "wait 'till Billy Cowan gets up, he'll show him the law." Mr. Cowan, however, was so completely overwhelmed by the torrent which bore upon his client that when he rose to reply to Mr. Henry, he was scarcely able to make an intelligent or audible remark. The case was decided almost by acclamation. The jury retired for form's sake, and instantly returned with a verdict for the defend- ant. Nor did the effect of Mr. Henry's speech stop here. The people were so highly excited by the audacity of such a suit that Hook began to hear around him a cry more terrible than that of beef; it was the cry of tar and feathers; from the application of which it is said that nothing saved him but a precipitate flight and the speed of his horse. The legal record, which is still preserved in the clerk's office of the circuit court of Franklin County, Vir- ginia, and of which we have a copy, exhibits that Wirt was some- what in error in his report of the result of the case. The original
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
verdict appears to have been "for the plaintiff, one penny damages," which was confirmed by the general court, to which he appealed. The record is as follows: "The Commonwealth of Virginia to the Sheriff of Campbell County, greeting : You are hereby commanded to take John Venable, if he be found within your bailiwick, and him safely keep, so that you have his body before the judges of the general court, at the Court-House in the City of Richmond, on the 23rd day of the Court now sitting, to answer John Hook of a plea of trespass on the case. Damage, forty pounds. And have there this writ. Witness, Paul Carrington, Esq., chief justice of our said Court of Richmond, the 5th day of April, 1783.
In the seventh year of Commonwealth.
John Brown, C. G. C.
Hook V. Venable.
Capias executed.
Charles Moorman, Bail. D. Talbot."
Then follows this complaint of John Hook, reciting the facts as deposed, giving the date of his despoilment as October 10, 1781, and fixing the value of the oxen at fifteen pounds. His counsel before the general court was "Baker," presumably German Baker, a distinguished lawyer of the period. The original verdict is given as follows: "We, the jury find our plaintiff one penny damages. "John Patrick."
The case appears to have been continued in the general court until September, 1789, when-"Cl. v. Def't. and Charles Moorman, his surety, confirmed." "The costs in General Court 310 lbs. tob. and 50 pounds tobacco, or 500 lbs.
J. Brown, C. G. C.
"Issue for plaintiff for one penny damages.
"Issue ch'd. New London. R. Rife."
John Hook, the plaintiff, from various accounts which we have gleaned, was a prosperous merchant and farmer, from which fact an inference may be drawn as to the estimation in which he was held by his fellow citizens.
His descendants are now among the most respectable residents of Campbell County and other sections of the State.
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
SCHOOLS
The progress of educational growth, though slow, has been sure. Space does not permit us to follow its footsteps, but merely to sup- ply some leading statistics. The school system, before the Civil War, was a neighborhood affair. Usually a few enterprising farmers, who were ambitious for the education of their children, would com- bine to build a school house, and employ a teacher, who was expect- ed to remain there from day dawn to sunset. A sketch of its equipment may convey some idea of the primitive condition of things We see a big log house ; an open fireplace, wide and deep (fed twice daily by wood sawed by the older boys) ; andirons formed of rocks, three or four feet long ; space left in one corner for coal ashes on which to roast potatoes, eggs, etc .; a long stick nearer the hot coals, on which to warm bread, pies, etc. To the right of the fire- place stands a chair for the teacher's sole use ; nearby is a window, cut out of part of two logs in the wall, and filled with glass ; three chestnut slabs constitute long benches for the scholars, forming a semi-circle in front of the teacher; on the other side of the room is another window, and against the wall a long wooden slab, as writing desk. The door stands open, to give additional light to the pupils ; its hinges are of wood, and a few nails wrought by the blacksmith. The flooring is of solid wood, impervious to heat or fire. A thatched roof carries the gable ends to the top of the dwell- ing, giving a high-pitched, conical ceiling, well ventilated except where the cracks are securely daubed with red mud. A pole, axe, auger and saw, are the only tools employed in making this build - ing.
Many of the greatest scholars and statesmen of the age received their primary education in just such an edifice as this, and their future wives swept the floors during recess. After completing a course of English and Latin, many of the pupils attended acad- emies, preparatory to entering college or the University of Va. The girls attended village boarding schools, or studied accomplishments at home under a tutor. Many boys continued the strenuous life of home duties, strengthened by the exercise of mental develop- ment.
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
In 1799, a very substantial four-roomed frame building was erected in Liberty, combining school house, Masonic temple, sur- geon's room, and drug store. So dense was the forest and under- growth of this locality (it is now the site of Bedford City) that small children were not allowed to go far from the house lest they should be lost in the woods.
In 1800, Jonas Irvine taught school in a small house, later known as Oakwood. In. 1812 Miss Nancy Thomas began a very successful career as teacher; and about 1810 Mrs. Leftwich established a flourishing school at the old "Beal floor" near the Pike.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS
In 1827 Rev. V. Smith and his wife opened a private school in "Liberty." He was a Presbyterian and successful in his vocation.
7 Rev. Joel Flood lived in a log cabin, two miles west from Bedford Capes City, planted a little school house in a grove near the "Granville Sanatorium." His reputation as a thorough instructor was great, his discipline was rigid; the hickory law applied to both boy and girl ; the chivalry however of the genus homo often averted the im- pending fate of the feminine victim, and some noble boy became the scapegoat. The offence was never repeated.
Mr. John A. Estes, who taught in Campbell, Prince Edward and Bedford Counties, understood something of political economy, he contracted with some prominent farmers for his entire salarv, board and laundry, during a nine months' session ; had consequently no unpaid tuition, and was able to lend money on good security. He died at a ripe old age, unmarried, and rich.
Mr. Lewis Campbell was another fine and successful tutor.
Mr. and Mrs. Sidney L. Dunton, conducted a flourishing school in the old Campbell House. Mr. William A. Claytor also took charge of large schools in Ephesus, Piedmont and Bedford City ; he lived to see many of his pupils follow his footsteps. His keen sense of humor and appropriate jokes were always an inspiration and refreshment to pupil and friend. Capt. James G. Board, another prominent leader, was a graduate of Columbia College, Washington, D. C .; for four years was county superintendent of Bedford County ; resumed his former profession, and now lives on his farm near Staunton River. In spite of the loss of a leg
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
A GROUP OF BEDFORD CATTLE
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
donated to his country's cause, he is as energetic and vigorous as ever. Rev. J. A. Davis came here from Washington County, Vir- ginia, with many years' experience as a teacher. He was elected superintendent of schools for the county ; energy and push charac- terized his administration. Capt. A. D. Hawkins taught the same school for seven consecutive sessions, served as clerk of district . school, trustee for seven years, was elected superintendent of county schools for three terms, and for eighteen years has been in the real estate business in Bedford City. Prof. Charles B. Tate, a graduate of V. M. I., taught private schools at various points, and a teachers' training school at Montreal, Va., which turned out some of the best teachers in the county. His noble wife was a great help to him, both here and at Pulaski City, where they are now actively engaged.
Mr. Roy B. Smith, a graduate of Lynchburg High School, taught in this county for several sessions, took his B. L. degree at the University of Virginia, practiced law in Lynchburg and Roanoke, was Commonwealth Attorney in that city, and a member of the council. Mr. O. C. Rucker, graduate from Roanoke College, taught in our schools for several sessions and has practiced law for many years in the county.
Mr. Graham Claytor, a student of private schools, taught for several terms, studied law, practiced in Bedford City, was elected commonwealth attorney, and state senator, ran for Congress, and was an author and gifted orator.
In 1849 the "Mountain View Seminary" for girls was established. Mrs. E. T. Smith was principal; in 1852 Rev. V. Smith bought the school, was assisted by Rev. H. S. Osborne and others. In 1854 the property was sold to Prof. S. L. Dinton, who taught here until 1857, when he bought the Campbell House, of which previous mention has been made. In a few years the seminary was moved to the present building.
Rev. James Cofer taught in the old Baptist Church, now occu- pied by Dr. J. W. Sale. "Piedmont Institute" was built in 1850 by stockholders. Some of the first principals were Mrs. H. L. Davis, W. C. Claytor, William E. Peters, Col. James Allen, Lyman Wharton, H. S. Osborne, Roy R. Allen, Prof. Riders, Prof. Wythe, Shoane, Stoat, Clayborne, L. Douglas, W. Douglas, Lowry, and
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
others. There were once one hundred and forty boys and girls. This property was afterwards sold to the Municipal School Board for a colored school building, which is largely attended. Bedford Female Seminary, located on Bridge Street was built by stock- holders in 1835. Rev. V. Smith, Jacob Mitchell, Edward Johnston, Mesdames F. Smith, Henruquey (a Dane) and N. P. Gladding, taught successfully large schools. In 1852 Mrs. L. L. Lomac and seven daughters took charge. In 1852 while Mr. H. L. Davis was principal, the whole structure was burned down.
NEW LONDON ACADEMY
This school was chartered in 1795. We select extracts from the constitution :
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly that the following gentlemen (here follow names of thirteen leading men) are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate to have perpetual continu- ance by the name of Trustees of the New London Academy." "Any seven of these trustees can constitute a board." "An act to raise by Lottery a sum of money passed December 13, 1796." "It shall be lawful for the trustees to raise by lottery the sum of ten thousand pounds to defray expenses of erecting buildings, and establishing permanent fund for the support of said Academy." "Ordered that all funds be deposited in the Virginia Bank at Lynchburg." "On October, 1826, ordered that a committee confer with Rev. Nicholas H. Cobb to ascertain upon what terms he would be willing to take charge of the Academy as Tutor."
From Secretary's Minutes.
"On October 19th, 1826, Prof. J. McConnell resigned. Rev. N. H. Cobbs accepted the tutorship under promise of twenty students. On September 28th, 1830, Mr. Cobbs resigned, Mr. H. L. Davis succeeded him. There were twenty-two rules and regulations for the tutor's guidance. At the end of the session there shall be a rigid examination in public of all the students, which will be pub- lished in the Lynchburg newspapers. In July, 1831, Harrison Chilton was elected trustee to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Samuel Read. George E. Dabney, Alex. P. Campbell, and Rev. Thomas Brown succeeded each other as principals. March 5th, 1846, a committee was appointed to see that the will of the late
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
Harrison Chilton was probated. June 30th, 1849, ordered that Judge Fleming Saunders arrange with the council in the Chilton will suit."
Copy of the Will of Harrison Chilton, dec'd.
"I, J. H. Chilton, considering the uncertainty of life, and the duty of being prepared for death, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all my former wills and codicils.
1st. I desire that all my just debts be paid, and for this purpose and purposes hereafter declared, I desire my executors to sell all my land now owned by me, or which I may own at the time of my death.
2nd. I desire my executors to sell all the slaves I may own at the time of my death, at public auction, for ready money, and to sell all of my personal property of every description.
3rd. The money arising from the sale of lands, negroes, and per- sonal property with all my debts that may be owing me (after the payment of my just debts) I give to the Trustees of New London Academy, to be put out at interest on substantial land security or vested in some good and safe stock; the annual interest to be used for the benefit of New London Academy.
4th. I appoint Nathaniel Manson, and Robert E. Manson, Exe- cutors of this, my last will and testament, and earnestly desire they will execute my will as declared." October 15th, 1845.
"In 1851, E. W. Horsley was principal, and succeeded in 1854 by Costar J. Harris. August, 1854, Edward Sextus Hutter was elect- ed trustee."
"April 3rd, 1857, R. G. H. Kean delivered an address at com- mencement, a band of music engaged not to cost more than $50.00."
No minutes are recorded between 1863 and 1867. The princi- pal's house was burnt down, and the Federal troops destroyed all documents and papers in the desk of the secretary. E. S. Hutter, Secretary, resided at Poplar Grove, the once beautiful home (near Forest) of President Thomas Jefferson; it is still in the family and owned by his son, C. S. Hutter.
In June, 1871, an effort was made to open the Academy as a free school, but it was found impracticable.
bart
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
EL
MT. PLEASANT ACADEMY
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
In June, 1884, however, the committee reported favorably on the joint running of the Academy with the public schools, and in August, 1880, Mr. D. W. Read, M. A., University Va., was elected principal at a fixed salary and tuition free. It is now one of the foremost schools in the State as a trainer of students and teachers. One hundred and fifty names were enrolled the first session, and forty in the Teachers' Training School.
CO-OPERATIVE SCHOOL FOR FEMALES
This school will enter its tenth session in September next. It boards girls at exact cost, giving a liberal education for a session of nine months at a cost of $125.00. This includes board and tui- tion. It has now one hundred pupils and ten teachers. Its stand- ard of instruction is high, and discipline good. Its most enthusi- astic advocates are found among its pupils.
RANDOLPH-MACON ACADEMY
Bedford City, Va.
VALUE OF PLANT, $100,000.
Prepares boys and young men for college, university, or business life. The Academy has been in successful operation for seventeen years and has, in that time, trained about one thousand and five hundred students. Its work has been endorsed by over thirty col- leges and universities. Two hundred and eighty degrees, classical and professional, have been conferred by these colleges and uni- versities on students trained at the Academy since 1895.
The list of those applying for degrees, this year, numbers twenty- four. The applicants are to be found at such well-known insti- tutions as :
Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Randolph-Macon College, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, University College of Medicine, University of Maryland, etc.
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
GROWTH.
Enrollment of students :
Session
Students
1901-1902,
99
1902-1903,
111
1903-1904,
141
1904-1905,
179
1905-1906,
181
1906-1907,
215
E. SUMTER SMITH, Principal, Bedford City, Va.
BELLEVUE HIGH SCHOOL
This school has won for several generations too wide a reputation to need words of recommendation. Its thorough equipment, natural surroundings, ménage, and possibilities for physical, in- tellectual, and moral advancement cannot be exceeded. Its Principal, Prof. W. R. Abbott, Sr., is richly endowed with brilliant mental capacity, an inspiration which cannot fail to gain its reward in an ambitious student.
-
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
FREE-SCHOOL SYSTEM
The Constitution of Virginia was formed by the Convention of December 3rd, 1867, and ratified by the people in July, 1869. In Section III, it provides by law a uniform system of public free schools. In 1870 the Legislature of Virginia passed an act "to establish and maintain a uniform system of Public Free Schools, as required by the Constitution."
THE FIRST STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Hon. Gilbert C. Walker, Governor and ex-officio President of Board.
Hon. William H. Ruffner, Superintendent Public Instruction. Hon. R. T. Daniel, Attorney General.
THE FIRST COUNTY[ELECTORAL BOARD
Hon. John A. Wharton, Judge, Bedford County Court.
Hon. Lauriston A. Sale, Attorney for the Commonwealth, Bed- ford.
Hon. Sidney L. Dunton, County Superintendent Schools, Bed- ford County.
Names of persons who have been appointed superintendents of public free schools of the County of Bedford, Virginia, by the State Board of Education from the organization of the system to the present date, May, 1907:
Name of Supt. Date of Appointment. Constitutional Term.
Hon. Sidney L. Dunton, Sept. 17, 1870.
Hon. Sidney L. Dunton,
Jan. 9th, 1874, Jan. 1st, 18775.
Rev. James A. Davis,
Feb. 26th, 1878, July 1st, 1878.
Feb. 2nd, 1882, July 1st, 1882. Capt. James G. Board,
Capt. A. D. Hawkins,
1886, July 1st, 1886.
66 66 66
1890, July 1st, 1890.
1894, 66 July 1st, 1894. " 66 66
Mr. John S. Riley,
1897, July 1st, 1897. 66
.1901, July 1st, 1901. Prof. James R. Guy, June 24, 1904, appointed Acting Superin- tendent.
Mr. W. R. Abbott, Jr., Oct. 5, 1904.
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
NAMES OF DISTRICTS AND TRUSTEES
The county was divided into seven school districts and school trustees elected as follows :
Col. William Graves, James S. Woolfolk. .
1. Liberty. W. W. Jopling. Henry C. Lowry.
Maj. Cornelius Pate.
2. Lisbon. Albert W. Ewing, Capt. James H. Buford. Capt. N. C. Lick.
Fielding H. Jeter, Chas. O. Graham.
3. Chamblissburg. Dr. John W. Ferguson. Dr. Edmond Sale.
Capt. E. C. Cundiff, W. D. Ashwell.
4. Staunton. Maj. W. F. Graves, J. Whit Johnson.
Capt. C. C. Peters, M. P. Rucker.
Ambrose C. Rucker, C. T. Andrews,
5. Otter. Thomas Jefferson Phelps, A. G. Hillsman Dr. Granville L. Brown, W. G. Claytor.
Paul Penn, H. D. Poindexter.
6. Charlemont. Thomas N. Turpin, William P. Burks. John Milton White.
Edward Sextus Hutter, N. D. Hawkins.
7. Forest. James W. Harris, F. H. Harris, Capt. E. N. Wise. Samuel McDaniel, Henry Hubbard.
In 1872, the Municipal School District was formed, including the corporate limits of Liberty (now Bedford City) and a certain belt of territory encircling the corporate limits.
Dr. C. A. Board. Dr. John W. Sale.
8. Municipal.
Col. William Graves, Maj. John W. John- ston.
In 18- Bellevue Magisterial and School District was formed from Charlemont, Forest and Otter Districts.
C. M. Gibbs.
9. Bellevue. E. R. Talbot. E. C. Burnett.
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
NUMERICAL CONDITION IN 1905-6
One hundred and sixty free schools, counting each room as a school.
Twenty graded schools, with a total of fifty-one rooms.
Pupils Enrolled
White
4,620
Colored
1,703
Total
6,323
The figures for this year have not been compiled, but will show an improvement.
BEDFORD'S CONTRIBUTION
Bedford is the Mother County of many of its school teachers. We record from memory some of their names: Messrs. J. E. Lazenby, Marcellus Traylor, B. W. Shelton, J. C. W. Phelps, J. A. Douglas, S. H. Dooley, J. P. Scott, W. Lazenby, W. F. Hurt, T. C. Spain, B. W. Perkins, C. R. Goode, A. L. Miritown, F. R. Guy, Sr., J. E. Witt, W. J. Brodie, J. M. Steptoe, A. D. Haw- kins, William Chalmers, J. G. Board, J. W. Wilson, H. D. Poin- dexter, J. B. Feathers, J. A. Dinwiddie, W. L. Coleman, G. W. Scott, C. H. Wilkerson, E. A. Thurman, L. L. Brown, A. L. Dickerson, Hon. W. A. Goode, P. L. Huddleston, William G. Claytor, J. D. Lowry, A. B. Claytor, Rev. J. A. Davis, Maj. J. E. Robertson; Mesdames Mollie Claggette, S. L. Danton, Bettie Kirkpatrick, F. D. Poindexter, M. B. Rucker, T. Board, C. B. Tate, Bettie Wilkerson, Mary V. Walker; Misses Susan Thomp- kins, Alice M. Board, Annie C. Aunspaugh, Mollie B. Grant, Sue L. Turpin, Georgia T. Snead, Edmonia Lowry, Fannie L. Bell, Sallie M. Campbell, Charlotte Sale, Roberta McManaway, Bettie H. Davis, Eleanor C. Hubbard, Sallie Lindsay, Bettie Collins, Abbie Wright, Helen Jones, Annie Jones, Lily M. Bailey, Lucy W. Claytor, Julia Claytor, Mary Triddie Stone, Blanche L. Talley, Nannie Burton.
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HISTORICAL SKETCH
SUMMARY
We have now attempted to give the reader a general view of Bedford County, its location, boundary, soil, agricultural products, abundant water supply, altitudes, roads, banks, papers, post-office system, telephone, assessed values, taxes, scenery, climate, hygiene, population, social, domestic, and industrial life, government, fruits, vegetables, minerals, game, animals, timber, its capacities of develop- ment as shown by what has been done, etc., etc. Of course, there is much in the way of detailed information upon specific points that must be omitted from this pamphlet. In the body of this pub- lication, no mention has been made of towns or villages, except the county seat, Bedford City, partly because the villages are unusually small. They are, as a rule, composed of one or two groceries and general supply stores, blacksmith and wheelwright shops, church, school and a few dwelling houses ; some of these villages however are of considerable dimensions, particularly those lying along the line of the railroad ; thus, Montvale, and Forest Depot, are villages of quite ambitious pretensions. Big Island, on the C. & O. R. R .. by reason of its magnificent water power and the establishment of a large pulp mill, is beginning to reach beyond the village stage of existence. Moneta, on the Tidewater Railway, is destined to be a village of no small proportions in the near future. Goode, Law- yers, and Thaxtons, on the N. & W. R. R., are thriving villages. Of course, as the country becomes more thickly populated (it has now about 16 acres to each inhabitant) these villages will grow and be- come the seats of manufacturing and commercial industries. The great number and size of the streams in the county are a source of considerable water power, a small portion of which has been utili- zed for the establishment of saw, grit, pulp, and flouring mills. In some few instances they are equipped with modern improved machin- ery, but there are many thousands of available "horse power" that could be obtained for a mere trifle, and made the basis of some profitable manufacturing enterprise. Along the lines of the three railroads, C. & O., N. & W. and Tidewater, the cheapness of the steam coal, the nearness of the Pocahontas and West Virginia
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BEDFORD COUNTY, VA.
coal fields, and the abundance of raw material, iron, lumber, asbes- tos, soapstone, feldspar, paint, mica, etc., offer special inducements to manufactories. Coal will be delivered at any point upon these railroads within the county limits, at a low rate per ton; run-of- mine in car-load lots. After selecting the location, the rate can be obtained and comparisons with other points made. The disposi- tion of the towns and villages is to afford every encouragement to newcomers and especially to such as come for the purpose of es- tablishing manufactories. The proof of the merits of Bedford as a location for manufactures, is the success of those already estab- lished.
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