BY MILLIE ROTHROCK
The Wythe County Historical Society turned 50 years old this year. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, there were no celebrations, no fancy dinners. But it’s still an important milestone to mark.
On April 17, 1970, the society was formed as an organization dedicated to preserving, collecting and interpreting Wythe County’s history. Fifty years later, the Wythe County Historical Society is still going strong with a treasure trove of research materials, a website, a podcast and various publications.
The society partners with and supports the Town of Wytheville Department of Museums to coordinate programs and make artifacts and archival materials accessible to the public. In addition, the WCHS assists in the presentation and protection of the collections owned by the Wythe County Historical Society and the Town of Wytheville that make up the Haller-Gibboney House and the Thomas J. Boyd Museum collection.
Inside the town’s Heritage Preservation Center on West Spiller Street there is a research library open to public.
“It’s open to anyone who wants to do research,” said Tess Evans, public programs/digital history specialist who oversees the library. “We have all kinds of subject files on all kinds of topics, family files, genealogy research; we have all kinds of archives and collections for the museum.”
The WCHS has collected information on topics like cemeteries, the military, family histories, the history of Virginia and Southwest Virginia.
“And we have countless books,” Evans said. “We also have the Rural Retreat collection now, too. Since they no longer have a historical society, their collection was donated to us.”
If you can’t make it to the library, but have a burning question or two, don’t worry – Evans will do the research for you and email or snail mail you what she finds. All you have to do is contact the society via its web page or Facebook page.
“A lot of people email requests,” Evans said. “We charge $15 an hour and most people are pretty satisfied with that. It’s a lot lower than other places charge for research. I conduct those research requests and see what I can find. They send us a check and we send out any information that we find, either printed or by email.”
Evans spends a lot of her time digitizing information for handy access. The digitized website contains historic images, scanned material, videos and recordings. There, you can hear John Seccafico, Wytheville’s first polio victim, talk about his life and battle with polio. Other topics include Wythe County families, 19th century furniture and more.
And like many groups these days, the WCHS has a website and a Facebook page. Relatively new is a podcast Evans has created.
“So far, I only have an introduction and then one on the Germans in Southwest Virginia, which will have a part two. Now I’m working on one about the Scots-Irish in Southwest Virginia. But I’ll cover many different topics and have some interviews too,” she said.
Since COVID has denied the society a proper Golden Anniversary celebration, Evans made the group’s bi-annual Review publication a special 50th Anniversary Edition. Inside, there are anniversary remembrances and articles on a variety of subjects, including Wytheville’s African American Training School and a comparison of 18th century games and lessons with present-day. There is also information and tips to help people get started researching their family trees.
WCHS membership dues are $24 annually, and include the WCHS Review, the Rock House Dispatch newsletter, invitations to picnics and socials, unlimited free use of the research library, genealogical queries, free admission to regular museum tours, reduced admission to museum special events, discounts for museum shop items and rental fees for museum grounds.
There are also memberships available for households, institutions, youth and gift memberships.
To reach reporter Millie Rothrock, call 276-228-6611, ext. 35, or email mrothrock@wythenews.com 0 comments