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Volume 12, Issue 8

August 2021

Central Rappahannock Heritage Center

Newsletter

A place that loses its history loses its soul

Message From The Chairman

"Stay Tuned"

For the first time in over 16 months, the Heritage Center Board met in person on 20 July. And we met at the Center.

The meeting was very productive. The interaction between people meeting in person is desirable in many ways compared to Zoom meetings. In fairness, Zoom meetings allowed us to function during the pandemic. Unfortunately, the emergence of the Delta variant may necessitate a return to such meetings in the future.

The Nominating Committee presented an outstanding list of candidates to replace departing Board members Doug Cooper, Patty Davis, Kitty Farley, and John Reifenberg. They will be missed. In addition, two current members, Roy McAfee and Dr. Marceline Catlett, appointed to fill unexpired terms, will be reappointed at the Annual Meeting. The four candidates, Denise Benedetto, Yvette S. Blake, Phillip N. Jenkins and Carol G. Walker will be presented for election at the Annual Meeting in September. All the candidates and the reappointments were unanimously approved by the Board.

Due to the loss of air conditioning for a week, the reopening of the Center has been delayed. The training of seven new and six returning volunteers is on schedule. In addition, there are seven returning volunteers that need to be trained. It is expected the Center will be able to accommodate researchers by the end of July.

Our Annual Meeting will be held in the theater of the downtown branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library from 4:00-5:30 pm on 21 September 2021. A 3:00 pm Board meeting will be held at the same location. Due to Covid restrictions, the library closes at 5:30 and no refreshments are allowed. Jervis Hairston will be the guest speaker.

There will be no August Board meeting. Hopefully, I will see you in person at the Annual Meeting. “Stay Tuned.”

Jack A. Apperson, Chairman

The Heritage Center

Welcome New Members!

Yvette Blake

DeAnna Overcast

Heritage Center memberships support the important work done by The Center.

The Central Rappahannock Heritage Center is a non-profit, all-volunteer archive whose mission is to preserve historically valuable material of the region and make it available to the public for research.

Please join us as part of the Heritage Center's preservation team. As a member, you will be helping to preserve our priceless local history.

Click here to become a member today!

Membership

Thank you for your support,

The Heritage Center

MANY THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS

2021 HERITAGE CENTER SPONSORS

Barbara Barrett

Barbara H. Cecil

Dovetail Cultural Resource Group

Kitty Farley and Vic Ramoneda

Jim and Betsy Greene

Mary Katherine Greenlaw

Lucy and Wayne Harman

Mary Jane O'Neill

Hon. and Mrs. J.M.H. Willis

To become a Heritage Center Sponsor, please visit our website. If you have any questions, please contact The Heritage Center at (540) 373-3704.

Carolinas Peyton

Often talking with friends leads to ideas for research and writing. Recently a King George resident was mentioned, sounded interesting, and a small research project ensued.

Carolinas R. Peyton (1887 – 1986 or 1880 – 1986) a Black farmer from King George County has a well-documented story. Mr. Peyton, like many farmers possessed a multitude of skills. Besides farming he could maintain machinery, shoe horses and repair wagon wheels, but he was best known for an amazing story. When he was young, he went down to the spring near Machodoc Creek to get some water. While he was there he was kidnapped and put on an oyster boat from the Eastern Shore where he served as a cook. His family thought he had drowned. Peyton finally escaped and returned to King George County where he had a 63-acre farm which he worked with his mules, Pete and Queenie. He also worked at Belle Grove Plantation, birthplace of James Madison, fourth president of the United States, and at foundries in Washington, New York and a New Jersey farm. He married and had a daughter. He is buried at Good Hope Baptist Church in King George where he served as a deacon. Sounds too wild to be true? It was all documented and his story was published in the October 1976 National Geographic.

“A Good Life on the Potomac - A Long Life, a Good Life on the Potomac: Carolinas Peyton, a vigorous 88, finds abundance for body and spirit in tilling 50 beloved acres beside the river’s broad reaches. A picture essay by James L. Stanfield.”

The Heritage Center not only has a copy of the article; it also has over two hundred photographs of Carolinas Peyton taken by the late Barry Fitzgerald.

I have a list of file numbers and am looking forward to returning to the Heritage Center when it reopens to reseachers so I can review the files on Mr. Peyton.

Beth Daly

Volunteer

Collections Update - Postal Wagon

Over the years, we have had occasion to view hundreds of mailing envelopes. And they generally elicit a small yawn, allowing for a name and mailing address. But recently a new volunteer pointed out one with a post mark we had never seen before. Inside the mark was the usual information; date and location. But included in this one was the word "Wagon No. 1". Interesting. The individual that discovered the post mark then did a little more digging. It turns out this mail pick up service was the last of the "non-motorized urban transportation systems". Postmaster General William Wilson (1895-1897) was responsible for the initiative which was begun in 1896. Put into operation at that time were what was called Collection and Distribution Wagons. As can be seen in the photograph, Wagon N0. 1 was placed in service in Washington D. C. in 1898. Apparently not many were built and as the political climate changed, so did Postmaster Generals. The next Postmaster General did not share the same enthusiasm for the wagons and shortly thereafter, they ceased operations. Another, larger factor which played an important role in the demise of the wagons was the advent of the horseless carriage. This is but a snapshot of the history behind the wagons. There is plenty more to be found at The Heritage Center.

Thank you for your interest in the Center's collections.

John Reifenberg

Collections Manager