History lesson at the courthouse
by Mary Wakefield Buxton
Urbanna, Va.— The Middlesex County Museum, under the leadership of Marilyn South, does an excellent job in providing historic programs on and for our county. The recent program by Urbanna resident Bill Hight is an excellent example. Bill spoke at the historic Middlesex County Courthouse and gave an overview of local history.
It was particularly fascinating to hear his account of his grandmother’s unveiling of the Confederate Monument on the courthouse grounds on July 4, 1910. Over 1,000 people attended the ceremony to see the gift of the Daughters of the Confederacy in commemoration and honor of the Confederate war dead and all those who had suffered during the War Between the States. In attendance was the “Confederate Choir” made up of local girls wearing white dresses and red sashes. The girls sang “America” and “Dixie.”
Attorney W.D. Evans presided over the daylong ceremony (he was the father of Virginia Puller). The former governor of Virginia, Jackson Montague (grandfather of Robert Montague of Urbanna) addressed the crowd along with Col. Lee, who was Robert E Lee’s grandson.
Bill recalled how his grandmother had told him in the midst of the ceremonies it started pouring rain and the girls in their white dresses (by now bleeding red sashes!) went running for cover in the Methodist Church, which is now St. Paul’s Anglican Church. The weather soon cleared and the jubilant events continued.
Bill passed around photos of that time depicting what was called “courthouse days” in Saluda when the circuit judge came to the county to try various cases.
From the audience Ruby Lee Norris mentioned how much fun those special days were. “They were a big social event,” she said, where horses, wagons and mules and citizens came together for fun, eating and making merry right on the front lawn of the courthouse . . . a sight hard to imagine in today’s time.”
Bill reminded the audience that Middlesex County is in a 50-mile radius of Jamestown, the first English settlement in the new world in 1607. These settlers, many whose ancestors still live and work in the county, were mainly from southern English stock who were much more “malleable” than the northern English, who had been toughened considerably over the centuries of fighting with Scot/Viking raiders. (My father always said if the northern English had met the Normans at Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror would have been defeated.) Later, when Scot-Irish immigrants came into Virginia, they mainly settled in the Shenandoah Valley area, forming a very different ethnic group in the Commonwealth.
Original grants of land from the king went to early families with names we still recognize in our area today—Berkeley, Carter, Robinson, Wormeley, Corbin, Beverley, etc., and these people became the “Cavaliers” (a name we use today when we root for UVa).
At that time, one side of Urbanna Creek was Rosegill Plantation and the other side was Hewick. The primary crop was tobacco and finding labor to operate such huge tracts of land was the reason why indentured servants and slaves were introduced into Virginia.
Bill was quick to remind us the English brought the first slaves to the new world, but we must keep in mind that slavery had always been a part of the history of man right from the beginning of time and that we should also keep in mind all ethnic groups have been enslaved at one time or another. It is an evil that has not been eradicated from earth, even today, much to the shame of those few African and Middle Eastern nations that still tolerate it.
It was also interesting when Bill also reminded us that wars have come and gone in this country ever since the American Revolutionary War in 1776-83, which was followed by the War of 1812, the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War and now we are engaged in wars in the Middle East.
Our history is important, Bill reminded the audience, because if we don’t understand our past we will be ill-prepared to face our future. America is now facing greatly challenging times and the majority of citizens in a recent poll stated they believed our nation is in decline. Bill asked us to consider whether Americans are in the twilight of our civilization, or are we at the dawn of a new and stronger America?
Bill cautioned those who like to pass judgment on the actions of our past to be careful. “Unless you have walked in another man’s shoes, you should think twice before you cast judgment on his actions,” he said.
In conclusion, Bill said how grateful he was that our Board of Supervisors had restored the historic courthouse in Saluda so we can better remember and learn from our past.
