Benjamin T. Pitts

By Ralph “Tuffy” Hicks

By jon gerlach

was a Virginia state senator from Fredericksburg, and his legacy lives on in the city to this day. The company that he established in the early 1900's is still very active with the management and ownership of many business and residential rental properties. Benny was a resident of Fredericksburg since his birth on January 21, 1889.

In 1909 he became involved in the building of movie theatres that would result of his ownership of thirty-eight with one being in West Virginia. Many of us may remember the two that were located in Fredericksburg. The Colonial theatre and Victoria theatre both of which were on Main (Caroline) Street a block apart on the opposite side of the street. The Colonial is adjacent to another old family owned business Ulman's Jewelry Store Benjamin Pitts was also involved in building some of the first amusement parks in the country. In 1910 he leased a large parcel of land near Hanover Court House that was a baseball park. He built a merry-go-round and other amusement rides that operated during the day and evenings.

Today the Victoria has been renovated and used by the Fredericksburg

Baptist Church. The Colonial was much smaller than the Victoria, however the others were designed in the same likeness. I can remember attended movies in Culpeper and Emporia along with the Colonial and Victoria.

Benny was a generous man he set up scholarships for many of the students in the area along with the many charitable events that he sponsored that included the Rescue Squad fund raising, Salvation Army year round especially the Christmas Toys for children. Every Christmas he would give silver dollars to all the children he came in contact with. I found one he had given me in 1949 inscribed "Merry Xmas B. Pitts."

He was the founder of Pitts Enterprises which is still in operation today. He would buy residential properties in the area and rent them at affordable rates. Benny served a term on Fredericksburg City Council prior to his reelection to the Virginia General Assembly that he held until he sent a letter of to than Governor Almond resigning due to his failing health in 1958. He would live until his death on July 21st 1964, he is buried in Sunset Memorial Gardens.

The Fredericksburg City Council honored him in 2001, by placing his name on the Wall of Honor for his contributions to the City of Fredericksburg and the citizens of the entire state of Virginia. He still has relatives that still contribute to the area.

(HAPPY VALENTINES DAY ANNE)

Dedicated To: Alvin Jones, Chuck Smith, Jim Canty, Lucille Henderson, Allen Durrett, and Harvey Walsh

Tuffy is Front Porch’s Resident Historian

A historic gem in downtown Fredericksburg, the iconic Goolrick's Pharmacy is undergoing a serious makeover by its owner, Jarrell Properties, Inc (JPI) Its memorable Soda Fountainknown as America's longest continuously operating soda fountain - is also being restored.

The owners along with Jeh Hicks, JPI's Community Relations Director, gave me a guided tour of the inside of the building recently, and it reads like a book: each chapter in its long life of repairs and embellishments can be traced through time while the "bones" of the structure are temporarily visible.

Sometime perhaps in the 1930s a fire apparently burned through the sidefacing gabled roof. Instead of rebuilding the gabled roof (see BW photo), a flat roof was constructed after the fire, eliminating the half story. The "ghost" of the gabled roof can still be seen today between the two chimneys on the side of the adjoining building (see color photo). The second floor in the front of the building may have also been substantially rebuilt after the fire that took the roof. For example, the three detached windows in the second story facing Caroline Street were replaced with the tripartite window arrangement we see today. The architectural analysis currently underway might help shed light on these and other changes

Also of note, the second floor was a boarding house with several bedrooms sharing a communal bathroom. Boarding houses were common back in the day. An early type of "workforce housing", presumably many working folks who lived along Caroline Street in the early 1900s were boarding house residents. According to Indiana University history professor Wendy Gamber, up to one half of 19th Century city dwellers across America lived in boarding houses. To be sure, boarding houses played a key role in the history of Fredericksburg, and we will hopefully learn more about that as we uncover more untold stories about our past.

Goolrick's customers could buy a 5 cent Cinco Cigar made by the Eisenlohr Factory in Bucks County, PA, a 5 cent Coca Cola, a bottle of mouthwash, and maybe even an adult beverage. During the 13 years of Prohibition (which ended in 1933 with the repeal of the 18th Amendment), the U.S. Treasury authorized the sale of medicinal alcohol by physician prescription. Presumably, medicinal alcohol was dispensed at Goolrick's. We do know that common medicines contained alcohol too. For example, Spirit of Ammonia (at a hefty 120 proof) was used to stave off fainting among other uses. That might explain the iron safe in the basement. This is where alcohol-based prescription drugs and of course, any medicinal alcohol, were presumably kept during the Prohibition years.

On the website of Jarrell Properties, Inc. you can share your memories of Goolrick's and learn more about the renovation and rehabilitation of this historic building. Also, check out the excellent 2019 film by Keith Elliott about Goolrick's, available on YouTube. I'm told that when it reopens, the Soda Fountain will feature an expanded menu and some great comfort food. I can't wait, although grilled cheese on rye with a side of chips was always my favorite there.

So … what's in a Soda Fountain? Here … a historic building that's getting a new lease on life.

One of the most compelling and underrecognized aspects of Fredericksburg's history is the long tradition of African American-oowned businesses in the city. As a newcomer to this area, I was astonished by the research unearthed by local historians and history enthusiasts as I delved into the town's fascinating past. To showcase these incredible stories, the Fredericksburg Area Museum, in partnership with the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation, Inc., will offer a Black History Month Walking Tour entitled Black Businesses and Entrepreneurship in Fredericksburg, 1787-Present on Saturday, February 18, starting at 11 a.m. Tickets are available at famva.org.

This walking tour was inspired by three African American entrepreneurs, all of whom will be included on the tour. The earliest, John DeBaptiste , came to Fredericksburg from the island of Saint Kitts and served with Fielding Lewis