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Digging Up Jeb Stuart

Wed, 20 May 2009 09:11:33 -0400

Historian and Author Tom Perry will present “Digging Up Jeb Stuart” at the Patrick Henry Chapter of the ASV monthly meeting on June 9, 2009, at 5:30 p.m. at VMNH. This program will be one part biographical sketch of Civil War General James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart, one part about the history of his birthplace the Laurel Hill Farm in Ararat, Virginia, and one part about the archaeological work at the site that placed Stuart’s Birthplace on the Virginia and National Registers of Historical Places.

JEB Stuart’s biographer Emory Thomas
describes Tom Perry as "a fine and generous
gentleman who grew up near Laurel Hill,
where Stuart grew up, has founded J. E. B.
Stuart Birthplace and attracted considerable
interest in the preservation of Laurel Hill. He
has started a symposium series about aspects
of Stuart’s life to sustain interest in Stuart
beyond Ararat, Virginia." Perry holds a BA in
History from Virginia Tech in 1983. Tom started
the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust,
Inc. in 1990. The non-profit organization
preserved 75 acres of the Stuart property
including the house site where James Ewell
Brown Stuart was born on February 6, 1833.
Perry wrote the eight interpretive signs about Laurel Hill’s history along with the Virginia Civil War Trails sign and the new Virginia Historical Highway Marker in 2002. He spent many years researching traveling all over the nation to find Stuart materials including two trips across the Mississippi River to visit nearly every place "Jeb" Stuart served in the United States Army (1854-1861). He continues his work to preserve Stuart’s Birthplace producing the Laurel Hill Teacher’s Guide for educators and the Laurel Hill Reference Guide for groups and the organization to share his lifetime of research on the only preserved site in the nation relating to the birthplace and boyhood home of James Ewell Brown Stuart. Tom can be seen on Virginia Public Television’s Forgotten Battlefields: The Civil War in Southwest Virginia with his mentor noted Civil War Historian Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. Perry has begun a collection of papers relating to Stuart and Patrick County history in the Special Collections Department of the Carol M. Newman Library at Virginia Tech under the auspices of the Virginia Center For Civil War Studies. He is the author of Ascent to Glory, The Genealogy of J. E. B. Stuart, The Free State of Patrick: Patrick County Virginia in the Civil War, and Images of America: Patrick County Virginia and Notes From The Free State Of Patrick. In 2004, Perry began the Free State Of Patrick Internet History Group, which has become the largest historical organization in the area with over 500 members. It covers Patrick County Virginia and regional history. Tom produces a monthly email newsletter about regional history entitled Notes From The Free State of Patrick that goes from his website www.freestateofpatrick.com.

TGIF to Benefit VMNH

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:53:27 -0400

Tonight at 7:00 PM is the first TGIF of the season. Held in Uptown Martinsville, TGIF is a monthly concert series. Each concert benefits a non-profit and tonight’s concert will benefit VMNH. Tonight’s band is Paradox, and they play a mix of southern rock, classic rock, and country.

Makeover Martinsville

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:43:44 -0400

When: Saturday, May 9th, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Where: Historic Courthouse, Martinsville

Makeover Martinsville is an event where you can learn to care for your historic property. Topics will include:
Landscaping in Your Historic District - Dr. Barbara Winn
Financial Incentives & Guidelines for Historic Rehab - Mike Pulice
Preserving the Character of Historic Districts - Alison Blanton
“interesting topic” from Sonja Ingram

Fieldale Heritage Festival

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:38:38 -0400

May 16th is the date of the Fieldale Heritage Festival. There will be food, live music, arts and crafts, and, of course, plenty of information about historic Fieldale. Visit and support the community.

Powhatan’s People Web Site

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:20:28 -0400

Recently I was sent a copy of the latest e-newsletter from the Powhatan’s People Past and Present web site. This web site describes educational programs, lectures, events, news, etc. and is operated by Virginia Indians from the Mattaponi reservation in King William County, Virginia. Educational programming is keyed to the Virginia Standards of Learning so if you are an educator looking for specific content you can check for a specific program.

Do you have local artifacts?

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 15:15:44 -0400

VMNH has a new exhibit opening July 18th, Clues to Our Past. One of the cases will highlight material excavated from local sites. I would like to use artifacts from collections held locally so if you have an artifact collection and would be willing to loan pieces from it for the upcoming exhibit please contact me at elizabeth.moore@vmnh.virginia.gov.

Mount Trashmore

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:53:07 -0400

Before we left Virginia Beach this weekend, we stopped to see Mount Trashmore. This park covers 165 acres and is a “mountain” measuring 60 feet wide and 800 feet long. It was made by compacting a landfill with clean soil, turning a former waste spot into a city park. This landfill reuse project is a great example of turning a negative space into a positive community area. There are two lakes associated with the park and both were filled with birds and other wildlife while we were there.

The USS Wisconsin

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:53:05 -0400

This past weekend I gave a presentation at the annual meetings of the Virginia Association of Museums. The Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Hampton area has a great number of museums, historic sites, and wildlife areas to visit. For a museum professional, it’s like being a kid in a candy shop. I decided to visit something totally different from VMNH - no natural history or archaeology. The first thing we visited was the USS Wisconsin. One of the largest and last battleships built, the Wisconsin saw service in WWII, the Korean War, and the Gulf War. It is currently inactive and visitors can go on the deck and learn about the ship and its history. Docents are retired navy and are very knowledgeable about the ship and its service. It was a fascinating place to visit and I highly recommend it.