FEBRUARY 2022
FARMVILLE - PRINCE EDWARD HISTORICAL SOCIETY Monthly Newsletter Our Next Meeting The February meeting of the Farmville-Prince Edward Historical Society will take place at 7pm on Tuesday, February 15, at the Robert Russa Moton Museum at 900 Griffin Blvd. in Farmville. There will be no board meeting in February. In celebration of Black History Month, the topic of this meeting will be the life and legacy of Philip Ward, celebrated head chef and baker at Longwood for over fifty years. Dr. Letoshia Foster, professor of history at Longwood University, will present a lecture regarding her research on the Ward family.
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For the latest news, information about the historical society, the archives, and Prince Edward County history, visit our website.
Membership Dues for 2022 Dues for 2022 have increased to $20 for individual membership or $30 for family membership or businesses. Dues can be paid in-person or checks can be mailed to: FPEHS P.O. Box 546 Farmville, VA 23901 We are planning some exciting projects for the new year and your dues are an important part of making those possible.
Volunteer Opportunity! We are looking for volunteers to help us organize historical society archival collections. There is a significant number of backlogged collections as well as many new collections that need to be organized, described, and made accessible to the public. If you are interested in helping us accomplish this goal, please contact Benedict Chatelain by email at: chatelainbg@longwood.edu or by phone at: 434.395.2448.
FEBRUARY 2022
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On February 5, 1986, a landscaping contractor, hired by Longwood College to build a new retaining wall on the corner of High Street and Venable, uncovered the brick foundation of a home. That home, likely built in the mid-1800s, was acquired by the school in the early 20th century. It was subsequently demolished in 1924 to make room for their new Student Building, The culmination of multiple years of student and alumni fundraising, the Student Building is now known as French Hall, and a plaque, dedicated to these students’ efforts was recently installed on the first floor, High Street entrance.
Another plaque can be found on French Hall's lawn, facing High Street. This plaque was erected nearly 70 years earlier, funded by the Virginia State Dental Association, and was dedicated to their organization’s founder and original owner of that property, Dr. William Winthrop Hackett Thackston. A glance at the index to Bradshaw’s History of Prince Edward County, one of the most comprehensive studies of early Prince Edward County history, provides ample proof of the tremendous influence of Dr. WWH Thackston. Twenty-one entries point the reader to pages dedicated to his impact on the history of Farmville medicine, schools, and government, as well as his lasting effect on the practice of dentistry. Thackston was born in February 1820 and moved to Farmville in 1833. In 1842 he was the second graduate of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery and for the next 55 years he practiced dentistry in Prince Edward County. Shortly after returning home to open his practice in 1842, Dr. Thackston became one of the founders of The Virginia Society of Surgeon Dentists. In 1870 he and other prominent dentists in the state founded The Virginia State Dental Association. He was elected the first president of the organization. Throughout the years of the Civil War and for many years thereafter, Dr. Thackston served on the Board of Trustees of the Farmville Female College. Scant evidence of those years of the school survive today, but one ledger, recording the meeting minutes of the board from 1865 to 1873, offers some insight into that history and provides an explanation for the dearth of records. The first entry in that ledger, dated September 16, 1865, records a meeting of the board held at Dr. Thackston’s office. At that meeting Howell E. Warren, then serving as clerk of the board, reported that all previous records of the school had been destroyed by the Union Army earlier that year. In 1888 Thackston extended his considerable influence into the realm of municipal government when he was elected to the office of mayor. His tenure in that office was short, only serving one, mostly quiet, two-year term. Perhaps the only remarkable occasion was the establishment of the Farmville Electric Light, Heat, and Power Company in 1890. There are many notable figures in the history of Farmville and Prince Edward County. Only a select few, however – people such as Judith Randolph, Walter and James Dunnington, Howell E. Warren, Thomas A. Bolling, Joseph Leonard Jarman, and Rev. L. Francis Griffin – had influence on numerous facets of local history. Although this sketch of Dr. WWH Thackston’s life is by no means comprehensive, it is obvious that he rightly should be counted among those few.
It Happened in February...
2-1-1775 Hanover Presbytery met at Slate Hill plantation to plan an academy in Prince Edward County, soon named Hampden-Sydney. 2-1-1806 Virginia General Assembly appointed commissioners to survey a canal from the Buffalo River to the Roanoke River. 2-2-1775 Hanover Presbytery accepted Peter Johnston's offer of 100 acres of land for the new college, Hampden-Sydney. 2-2-1924 W.P. Gilliam's tobacco prizery burned. 2-3-1775 Hanover Presbytery appointed Samuel Stanhope Smith rector of the new college, Hampden-Sydney. 2-3-1803 Gen. Joseph Eggleston Johnston (USA and CSA) was born at Longwood plantation. 2-3-1942 Farmville's Company G mobilized for service in World War II. 2-4-1861 John T. Thornton was elected county representative to state secession convention. 2-7-1797 Gov. Beverly Randolph died. 2-7-1870 Charles Edward Burrell, county historian, was born. 2-8-1825 Virginia General Assembly incorporated Junction Canal Company to build a canal from the Buffalo to the Roanoke River. 2-8-1845 Virginia General Assembly created Appomattox County from parts of Prince Edward and three other counties. 2-8-1944 Charles Edward Burrell, county historian, died. 2-9-1762 First court record found of a passable bridge at Rutledge's Ford, which was later the site of Farmville. 2-9-1892 George Richardson was appointed postmaster. 2-10-1918 H.E. Barrow, former mayor, died. 2-11-1824 W.H. Ruffner, first president of Farmville State Normal School, was born. 2-11-1994 State Theater collapsed. 2-12-1871 A decision was made to move county seat from Worsham to Farmville. 2-12-1872 County seat was moved from Worsham to Farmville. 2-13-1786 Patrick Henry refused membership in U.S. Constitutional Convention. 2-13-1901 Farmville Dispensary was established by legislative act. 2-15-1907 Farmville was the site of Virginia's last execution by hanging before electrocution adopted. Jesse Ruffin and Massey Hill were the condemned. 2-16-1781 Prince Edward militiamen left old court house to reinforce Gen. Greene at Dan River. 2-19-1945 Farmville livestock market conducted its first sale. 2-23-1934 Prince Edward Mills commenced operation on site of earlier mill. 2-25-1952 Oliver Hill argued NAACP's Prince Edward case before U.S. District Court. 2-26-1900 Farmville Town Council voted against licensing the private sales of intoxicants; requiring all sales to be through an officially sanctioned Dispensary Board. 2-27-1833 Virginia General Assembly incorporated Farmville as a town. 2-27-1942 Parking meters were installed on Main Street. 2-28-1820 W.W.H. Thackston, Farmville mayor and dentist, was born.