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The Rockbridge area, with its rich history, has much to celebrate in May, which is designated as National Historic Preservation Month. We are indebted to many individuals and organizations who have contributed to efforts to preserve the relics of our bountiful local history. The Historic Lexington Foundation, Rockbridge Historical Society, Paxton House Historical Society, Brownsburg Museum, Stonewall Jackson House, George C. Marshall Museum, Virginia Military Institute Museum, and Washington and Lee University’s special collections and museums are among the guardians of our local history.
One of the newest organizations that has joined this noteworthy list of preservationists is Friends of Greenwood Cemetery, which is undertaking the task of uncovering – figuratively and literally – this long-neglected Buena Vista burial ground of mostly African Americans from the first half of the last century but also of paupers from the city’s founding in the 1890s. The Friends group is clearing the cemetery of brush, identifying and marking graves, and has plans to install a fence and interpretive signage.
HLF and the Brownsburg Museum undertook an initiative in recent years to document and preserve five slave dwellings in the Brownsburg area. Descendants of the enslaved, documentary filmmakers and historic preservationists have all been involved in efforts to call attention to the stories of this mostly forgotten part of Rockbridge County’s history. A tour of the dwellings last year, a first for this area, drew a huge crowd.
Lexington city and community leaders completed a project this past year to replace and improve the heavily damaged gate entrance to the city’s historic Evergreen Cemetery. At the dedication ceremony for these enhancements, Vice Mayor Marilyn Alexander spoke of the history associated with the cemetery and the importance of not letting this history be forgotten. She viewed the occasion as an “opportunity to bring honor, attention and a higher level of respect to people and families who’ve been buried here since the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
Also at that ceremony, HLF’s outdoing director, Don Hasfurther, noted that HLF has been involved in a multi-year project with Hamric Memorials to repair and reset headstones in the cemetery. Preserving the cemetery, he said, is important because it “tells a great story of particularly African American lawyers, writers and soldiers.” HLF has also been involved in efforts to repair and reset numerous headstones at Lexington’s other cemetery, Oak Grove (formerly Stonewall Jackson), and the historic Falling Spring Presbyterian Church cemetery in the county.
Hasfurther, who is stepping down June 1 after directing HLF for 13 years, related to this newspaper recently how the organization came to be, in the 1960s, with its primary goal of saving and preserving Lexington’s historic downtown. He told how HLF led efforts to save the Alexander-Withrow House, the McCampbell Inn and the Jacob Ruff House. During Hasfurther’s tenure, HLF broadened its mission by extending its preservation efforts into the county. He has initiated tours, programs and workshops to engage the community on local history and educate people on the importance of preservation.
HLF concludes its National Preservation Month activities next Saturday, May 27, with a walking/ driving tour that is to highlight the transportation history of Lexington. Participants will view the remains of the city’s railroad lines, beginning at the city’s historic train station, now housing the offices of ODK, off of McLauglin Street. The tour will end at the Miller’s House Museum at Jordans Point, which has an exhibit on the railroads of Rockbridge County.
The tour is yet another example of the important work preservationists are doing for our community to bring attention to the Rockbridge area’s vibrant history.
