The Muse: April 2008From the PresidentNational Volunteer Week: April 27-May 3 The Amherst County Museum would not be a viable organization without the efforts of volunteers. The Museum’s biggest need for volunteers occurs in April when Butler’s Brigade marches into action for the annual Amherst Home Tour. Frances Butler and her captains and docents spend innumerable hours on this event--our primary fund raiser. It is only possible because of volunteers. Throughout the year, we have many volunteers doing various tasks. Elvira Morse, Alice Powell, Rosemary Dunne and Judy Faris are mainstays. Lynn Kable organizes unique events. Nancy McDearman assists with exhibits, and Bob Faught is working with the Amherst book committee. Bev Kryspin and Ruby Rittmeyer do data entry at home, an important chore for processing historical information. Midge Elliott answers genealogy requests--and we get quite a few--and records old cemeteries. Bill Wydner took a day to lecture on mills. Dr. Rainville and her Sweet Briar students have entered the bulk of our cemetery field notes into the computer--a project approaching 4000 names. We could never have managed the massive Meade cemetery without the work of Carolyn Moss-Rowland. Valli and Ron Ritchie have made certain that children’s events happen, along with Carrie Finney, Laura and Linda Crews, John Burks, Kyle Richardson and more! Moreover, the Executive Board members are volunteers in nearly every activity in addition to governing the museum. These are the people I see frequently at the museum and there are others as well. I so appreciate everyone’s time and effort, and I enjoy working with you. I salute our volunteers. WELL DONE! Charles Hamble, President A Full House for the Mills Lecture!Many thanks to Mr. Billy Wydner for his delightful presentation on the Amherst Milling Company, and other mills of old! In spite of the perilous weather, almost fifty people showed up for this event. After filling up the chairs, some of the younger crowd (school had been cancelled) opted for seating on the stairs. Mr. Holcomb Nixon prepared an Amherst County map of identified mill sites in Amherst County. Annual House TourOur 2008 Historical House Tour will be on Saturday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come and bring friends for an enjoyable day! Poplar Grove, the Borel House, and the Wilkins House are in the exciting new Poplar Grove Golf Community. Watch for signs that direct you from Route 29 or Route 60. Ebenezer Baptist Church, a very old building, is on the route. Briar Hill House is near the area on Old Stage Road, and Dulwich Manor is on Route 60E of Amherst. All are interesting. You may buy your ticket at the first house you visit. Full tour is $15; individual houses are $3 each. Box lunches will be available at Poplar Grove manor house from 11:00 to 2:00 at a cost of $8. You can pay at the door, but please make reservations at the Museum 946-9068. Thank you for your support of this major fundraiser for the Museum. Details about each house can be seen by clicking on this link. New in the Library
From the Collections: Prelude to Daylight Savings TimeThe Amherst New Era-Progress announced that on March 29, 1943, the schools would be operating on "war time." It’s been sixty-five years and the annual time change is still a bother for everyone!  Clean, Renew, Recycle!Put all those gadgets, widgets, toys, art, artifacts, and other wonderful "white elephants" you’ll never miss into bags and boxes, then save them for the ACMHS Rummage Sale on June 7, 2008. No clothing or shoes will be accepted, but other former treasures you wish to donate may be left at the Museum on June 4, 5, and 6 to be priced before the big event. Pick-up service will be available for larger items. Please contact ACMHS board member Mary Frances Olinger at 946-7233 to add your name to the list of volunteers for this project Your enthusiastic support will guarantee its success. Clio's ClubThe Vintage Valentines program held on February 9 produced a number of Valentines for the residents at Fairmont Crossing! In addition to frosting Valentine cookies, participants also made Valentines, for their own friends and families and also extras for their friends at Fairmont! Valentines for Fairmont is becoming an annual tradition! Many thanks to all the volunteers who helped! What next for the kids? On Saturday, May 10, at 2 p.m., the Museum will sponsor a program of making paper and an opportunity to learn about the historical printing process and the popular recycling process of today. A springtime twist--flower seeds can be embedded in the cards so the recipient can "plant" it. As the paper biodegrades naturally, flowers will grow! * * * * * * * * * *The Village Garden Club GardenFest 2008 will be held at the Museum on Saturday, April 26 from 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Homegrown plants, baked goods, crafts, and garden books will be for sale. The Art Society will be painting onsite, and Judy Strang will be providing nature activities for the younger set. Also, there will be demonstrations you'll enjoy! * * * * * * * * * *In 1907 Amherst County had one hundred public schools and sixty-five churches, according to Facts of Interest About Amherst County, Virginia, published by order of the Board of Supervisors, April 1907. New Virginia Landmarks in Amherst County! The Glebe exemplifies a mid-eighteenth-to-early-nineteenth-century plantation house. in Amherst County. The dwelling preserves mid-eighteenth-century construction technology and fabric: hand-made bricks, hewn and pit-sawn timbers, mortise-and-tenon framing, and brick nogging. The wainscoting in the stair hall and formal rooms and the hand-carved mantels exemplify high quality period craftsmanship. The Glebe is one of only ten surviving dwellings in Virginia associated with glebe lands. The dwelling is symbolic of an era when glebe lands were purchased and glebe buildings were built by governmental mandate in order to support the clergy of the established church. The surviving glebe houses and the various glebe roads are the historic legacy of the legally established church in Virginia. The Glebe is associated with Rev. Ichabod Camp, the first Anglican minister to serve Amherst Parish. The Glebe is also associated with Gabriel Penn, a developer of and merchant in Colonial-era New Glasgow. Penn was politically and socially distinguished in Old Amherst for more than thirty years. At the beginning of the Revolution, he was commissioned as lieutenant and entrusted with the official standards and weights of the county. Nomination prepared by Nancy Kraus  Edgehill is located on property patented to the Christian family about 1743. In 1790 Susan Christian, only child of John Harvey and Joyce Christian, married John Meriwether Walker. The brick house was built in 1833-34 and occupied by their youngest son, Isaac Walker. Isaac, an Amherst County court official, and his wife Sarah had a son Samuel who also practiced law. After farming the place for generations, the Walkers sold it to W Gerhard Suhling of Suhling Tobacco Company. After his World War II service, he worked with a program to help displaced Europeans. In 1959 John G. DeWitt bought the house; in 1961 it was bought by Louis and Mary Dula who resided there until it was purchased by the Virginia Fibre papermill in 1984. The Virginia Fibre (today Greif Brothers) company maintained it as a guest house until 2004 when Warren Teates and Caroline Emswiler bought the place. Many of Edgehill’s outbuildings remain and of those that do not, foundations can still be found. It is located near the old James River and Kanawha Canal works and some remnants of the canal operations are still evident. Nomination prepared by Sandi Esposito |