Smyth County Revisited

by Kimberly Barr Byrd, Debbie J. Williams

Overview

A companion to Images of America: Smyth County, this volume, Smyth County Revisited, depicts some of the history of the area. Come examine the first land tracts surveyed west of New River. Learn of the vast amount of history surrounding Fort Kilmackronan, which still stands today. Explore the Indian Fields, and learn of the ghosts that still haunt them. Visit the many Civil War sites in this area and tour the localities where Civil War uniforms and supplies were manufactured for the Confederacy. Find out why Smyth County became "the hub of the herbal industry" and how it went on to become the world's largest distributor of these medicinal remedies. Discover why the county's first library was located in the ladies' room of the courthouse. Come survey the many other sites and memorable events that entertained so many generations for decades.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738544090
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	06/27/2007
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

Authors Kimberly Barr Byrd and Debbie J. Williams have amassed an array of vintage postcards and photographs that portray some of the history of Smyth County through the years. They invite you to take a nostalgic trip with them as they journey through Smyth County, uncovering much of the proud heritage and history.

Editorial Reviews

Publication: TriCities
Article Title: Many sides, stories can be found at house
Author: Joe Tennis
Date: 10/30/08
Oh, Abijah! In the mid-1800s, this industrialist, Abijah Thomas, created the Holston Woolen Mills in Smyth County, Va.
Thomas is also the reason why "Thomas Bridge" has that name along the South Fork of the Holston River.
But for a true monument to this man, you must look at his fabulous octagonal house - built in 1856-57 for the prominent landowner.
"This singular brick dwelling is Virginia's most sophisticated representation of Orson Squire Fowler's advocacy of octagonal architecture that caught the imagination of Americans in the reform movement of the 1850s," says "The Virginia Landmarks Register," a history book published by the University Press of Virginia.
Unfortunately, this octagonal house seems to have seen its better days. Doors and windows are boarded, and one tattered piece of plastic flutters at a top window, drifting in the wind with a spirit all its own. A prominent sign marks the place: "PRIVATE PROPERTY."
This brick landmark sits on a hill overlooking a public highway near Adwolfe, Va. And sometimes, you might see somebody on the street, staring and wondering: Is there anything there?
Local authors Kimberly Barr Byrd and Debbie J. Williams included a photo of this home in their first book, 2005's "Smyth County, Virginia: Images of America" (Arcadia Publishing).
These women also told of "a storage room, called the 'dark room' by locals. Rumors that this room was used to punish slaves or to lock away unruly children were unfounded."
Still, stories of the so-called "Dark Room" persist. And in 2007, Byrd and Williams took another look with their second book, "Smyth County Revisited" (Arcadia Publishing). This time, the authors note the "Dark Room" of this eight-sided house as "a strange, windowless room. It is called 'the dark room' by locals and harbors dark stains on the floor alleged to be the blood of slaves who were whipped there."
In a more recent collection, "Ghosthunting Virginia" (Clerisy Press), author Michael J. Varhola dedicates an entire chapter to the "Octagon House." Varhola describes the history of the home and shares some alleged hauntings, like the belief that Thomas's spirit comes back each Dec. 1 in the form of an eerie, blue-white light.
Yet, Varhola never went inside this home when he visited in the spring of 2008. And, he writes, "I did not sense anything of a paranormal nature."
Years before, the late Mack Sturgill explored both the legends and history of the home in his 1990 book, "Abijah Thomas and His Octagonal House." Here, too, Sturgill also tried to set stories straight. As for the "Dark Room," Sturgill provided a theory about the alleged "blood stains" on the floor. These, he figured, were probably caused by food spills from the canning jars stored inside the house.
The house is listed on state and national historic landmark registers.

From the Publisher