This park is a walking trail through a part of the old Merrimac Coal Mines. This mine was one of the oldest anthracite mine in Montgomery County. It was a government colliery for the Confederacy and takes it name for the famed ironclad the Merrimac, which was retooled and renamed the C.S.Virginia. Coal from this mine was used to power that vessel. The name Merrimac was given to the mines years after the war and...
Visit the church which was named as a memorial to Madam Russell, Patrick Henry's sister. Walk through the original portion of the church and see many beautiful features, including the magnificent stain glass windows. Tour the replica cabin of Madam Russell and enjoy stories of her tremendous influence throughout the years. The lives that Madam Russell touched are limitless, by some she is referred to as "The Mother of Methodism"....
The cabin was occupied from its beginning (circa 1795) through the 1960s. See the many visible indicators of the numerous transitional modernization periods the cabin has experienced. The original builders of the cabin probably never envisioned the cabins life expectancy nor the influence its occupants would have on the cultural developments. Enjoy the stories relating to the various families occupying the cabin including William King, William Alexander Stuart brother of Confederate Cavalry General J. E....
A visit to the Jeff Matthews Memorial Museum is a rewarding experience for adults, families and children of all ages. Among the treasures are the historic cabins dating back to 1834, Victorian fashions, over 10,000 Native American artifacts, a fascinating collection of African items, one of the largest Kodiak bears on display anywhere in the world, an extensive collection of hunting trophies and guns, one of the first pianos to arrive in Galax, a real...
Kentland Plantation is currently owned by the college of Agriculture and Life Sciences from Virginia Tech. It was originally a large plantation owned by James Randal Kent. The manor house was built in 1834-35 by John Swope. During the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad raid in 1864 by Union General Crook, the evacuating Federal army encamped on the plantation....
Indian fields, part of James Thompson's original tract inherited from his Grandfather, James Patton in the 1700's. James Thompson fought at King's Mountain. A Cherokee Indian uprising brought about the building as the neighborhood fort. The log and stone house was constructed around 1765. It was used for field slaves quarters in 1843. Pleasant Smith bought the property and made it into a home. Recently restored in 1990, by Vivian & Benny Coletti, it is...
Built in 1908, this building is complete with Flemish gables, octagonal towers, a hip roof, arched windows and spiral staircases. Of particular interest is the Crossroads Museum on the first floor in what was formerly known as the Clerk's Vault Room. Numerous displays featuring local history (Civil War, Native American, etc.) artifacts. Listed on the National and Virginia Registers of Historic Places. Open to the public, the Baldwin Auditorium (located in the former courtroom) is...
The Historic Cambria Depot is an Tuscan Italianate Depot built by the Virginia Tennessee Railroad in 1867 and opened in 1868. It is one of only two Virginia-Tennessee, pre-segregation Reconstruction Era combination depots left in Virginia and the only wooden Tuscan Italianate depot left in the United States. The station was built on the site of the original station, burned by the Union Army in 1864. The Cambria Depot stands as a testiment to the...
This is a focal point to downtown Hillsville. The property is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and was the county's second. Construction for the building took place between 1872 and 1874. Architecture of the structure combines two traditional courthouse forms: the arcaded front and the porticoed temple form with flanking wings. It has a Doric portico in front of an arcaded ground floor. Italian brackets adorn the pediment,...
History and tradition abound in Bristol, VA/TN, a truly unique twin-city. In 1881, both sides of Bristol designated the center of the city's main thoroughfare, State Street, as the Tennessee/Virginia state line. Today, Bristol’s Historic Downtown District, also known as State Street, features specialty gift shops, art galleries, cafes, restaurants and antique shops, and a variety of theatre, street festivals, and live music.As a Certified Main Street Community, Downtown Bristol has more to offer every day —...
