Currents of history

By David Maurer

Published: August 24, 2008

A soundtrack of classical music played softly as color photographs showing images of demolished homes, upturned cars and macerated landscape appeared and faded on the large Vizio television screen.

People, many holding fingertips to their lips as though to stifle gasps, stood shoulder to shoulder as they viewed the aftermath of Hurricane Camille. The stunning photographs were taken by Broward York Jr. on Aug. 20, 1969, the day after the wrath of Camille laid waste to much of Nelson County.

York, a reporter with the Waynesboro News-Virginian, had taken the pictures with his personal camera. Most of the more than 200 images of the devastation had never been seen by the public before.

That changed last Sunday afternoon when the Nelson County Museum of History held its grand opening. The museum’s premiere exhibits focus on two elements that changed the county forever — Hurricane Camille and rural electrification.

After decades of discussion and four years of heavy lifting, the new museum has added its historic jewels to the county’s already bright crown. Appropriately, it’s housed in Oakland, the antebellum red-brick house that has stood on the edge of Old Stage Road, now U.S. 29 south, since 1838.

“The county has had a thriving historical society for many years,” said Woody Greenberg, vice president of the museum’s board of trustees. “Part of the impetus for this is that the society wanted to have a place where they could bring archives, set up family histories and have a place where people could do genealogical research.

“We’ve reserved the third floor of the house for those purposes. We eventually want to develop all 10 acres of the property. We want to have an early, one-room schoolhouse, a 1930s farmhouse and a heritage orchard.

“We also want to include a sawmill, because the county’s heritage includes timber. And we want to build a big exhibit building with a theater, which will provide our permanent Camille exhibit with a larger and more deserving place to reside.”

Greenberg said the board wants the museum to be the definitive source for information related to Camille. If it hasn’t already achieved that distinction, it’s certainly close.

Courtney Proffitt and Abigail Haymes, two interns from the University of Virginia’s Institute of Public History, designed the Camille exhibit. They also recorded invaluable oral histories from people who lived through the terrible ordeal, which took the lives of at least 124 of the county’s residents.

“We now have several hundred hours of oral histories that center on the Camille experience,” Greenberg said. “We have also created a huge database of documentation, in addition to newspaper and magazine articles related to it.

“Local writer Stefan Bechtel, who wrote the book ‘Roar of the Heavens,’ which tells the story of Camille, was kind enough to donate all his research material to us. And the York photographs are incredible.

“Over the years I’ve seen a lot of black-and-white photographs having to do with Camille. But until I saw these color photographs I never really appreciated what had happened.”

Discussions about creating a museum to celebrate Nelson County’s history were going on long before Camille arrived. Words turned into action in 2004, when the Nelson County Historical Society purchased Oakland and its surrounding acreage for $275,000.

“We’re fortunate that this beautiful house came on the market at a time when we were all in the mood for something like this,” said Cliff Wood, who represented the society during the purchasing of the house.

“We have big plans for the land, and it’ll be a long process to get it all done the way we want it. But that’s all right. You have to start somewhere.”

The red-brick Greek Revival house located a few miles south of Lovingston was built by George Mitchell, and for the first part of its life it served as a tavern. The proprietors were licensed to run the roadhouse as long as they provided “good wholesome and cleanly lodging and diet for travelers and stableage fodder, or pasture, for their horses.”

A replica of a tavern room from that era is one of the attractions at the museum. The Colonial-era cage bar was built by Bob Taylor of Village Woodworks in Lovingston. Local craftsmen Ted Hughes and John Parr built the early-American-style tables and benches.

But it was the exhibits on Camille and electrification that were getting the most attention this past Sunday. The display “Cuttin’ on the Lights” tells the story of how electricity came to Nelson County via the efforts of the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative.

The display includes an interactive map that shows how electricity spread throughout the county starting in 1937. Enhancing the exhibit are glossy posters with narratives, archival pictures and examples of pre-electric, as well as early post-electric, appliances.

A video showing men and women commenting on how the county’s electrical system affected their lives is a major element in the exhibit. The film, produced by Erin Hughey-Comers, is a priceless addition to the county’s rich historic record.

Both exhibits tie the life-altering events into a broader context by showing how they fit into the histories of Virginia and the United States. Like other rural areas of the country, electricity came to Nelson County via the Rural Electrification Administration.

“Today if the lights go out people panic, because we’re so dependent on electricity for everything from lights, refrigeration and heating and cooling our homes,” said Greg Kelly, director of member services for Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, which helped create the “Cuttin’ on the Lights” exhibit.

“Back in 1937 people in Nelson County didn’t view electricity as an essential service. In the old days if the lights went out, people would mail a penny postcard to the co-op asking them to come out and restore their power.

“When power was first run to a house, many people were afraid to use it. Some folks even taped over the sockets so the electricity wouldn’t run out.”

A lineman often would turn on the lights for the first time to show the new customers it was safe. The exhibit helps to show the Herculean effort that was needed to get electricity to homes in often difficult and mountainous terrain.

Few people are as familiar with the mighty effort it took to create the new museum than Beth Goodwin. As president of the museum’s board of trustees she has worked tirelessly to turn a dream into reality.

“Oh, it’s a dream come true,” Goodwin said as she looked around at the crowds of people, young and old, who had dropped by to celebrate the grand opening. “We never thought we would get this far this quickly, but we had to do something to show the public and our supporters what they were putting their money into.

“The purpose of the museum is to show people what went on all through the history of the county. It has been a labor of love for me, because my late husband, J.W. Goodwin, was born in this house, and so was his father.

“He would have loved this, and he would have been very proud.”

Creating the museum has cost about $600,000, including the purchase price. It has received an $83,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, as well as financial support from the Perry Foundation in Charlottesville. The Nelson County Board of Supervisors provided $50,000 seed money to get things going, and numerous private donors also contributed.

Kathleen Kilpatrick, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, was the keynote speaker at the grand opening. As one of the museum’s most devoted champions in Richmond, she deeply believes in what has been created.

“It is through buildings, structures, places and museums like this that the community feels a sense of unity and connection with its history, traditions and heritage,” Kilpatrick said after viewing the stunning Camille photographs. “I really believe a community is strengthened by these things, and that connectivity is very important as we move forward into the future.

“A small, rural museum like this is personal. I think it can touch young people in particular in a way that a distant place that’s separate from them and their traditions really can’t.”

Oakland is located about 4 miles south on Lovingston, just off U.S. 29 south. Currently the Nelson County Museum of History is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission for adults is $5 and children are admitted free. For further information, call 263-8400 or visit http://www.historicnelson.org.