Published: July 04, 2008 06:45 pm         

Historic Crab Orchard Museum celebrates nation’s 232nd birthday

TAZEWELL, Va. — The true spirit of ‘76 — 1776, that is — was alive and well as volunteers of Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park donned buckskin britches, homespun cloth dresses and other attire of the 1750-’80 vintage to immerse themselves in the fabric of Tazewell County history.

“This museum and park complex is such a gem stuck here in the middle of Southwest Virginia,” Bob McGraw said. McGraw is “a distant relative” of Thomas Witten, a pioneer settler who bought the 650-acre Crab Orchard Survey Tract in 1768, and settled there the following year. The museum/pioneer park complex is located on part of that original tract.

“A lot of people drive up and down U.S. Route 19/460, look over here and see that it’s interesting, but many of them don’t turn off the highway and visit the complex,” McGraw said. “I would imagine it is similar to living in New York City. You can look over and see the Statue of Liberty and think of how great it is, but seldom, if ever, visit the site.”

McGraw, a well-known Tazewell County contractor, is a member of the Tazewell County Sons of the Revolution Chapter as well as the Old Fincastle Militia Reenactors who were participating in the activities at Crab Orchard. He studies regional history with a passion and spends time visiting with students to provide them with “the kind of history you don’t find in most history books,” he said.

The late Nellie White Bundy led the local effort to raise funds to build the museum/park complex in the 1970s and the dream of Bundy and other like-minded historians became a reality in 1982. “Pound for pound, this has to be one of the best museums of it’s kind,” McGraw said.

Crab Orchard has hosted an annual Independence Day celebration since the museum/park opened. “Some of the early celebrations weren’t as elaborate as they have become, but we’ve always celebrated our independence,” McGraw said.

“We have several activities taking place today,” Charlotte Whitted, Crab Orchard executive director said. “We are selling raffle tickets for a grandfather’s clock donated by ConnCert Music World. We’ll also be selling chances on the raffle next week during the 6th Annual Tazewell County Old Time & Bluegrass Fiddlers’ Convention,” Whitted said of the three-day fiddler’s convention Friday through Sunday, July 11-13, at the Tazewell County Fairgrounds and Crab Orchard Museum.

Several well-known local performers including CharLy & Diamonds in the Rough, Shelby Jewell & The Bluegrass Kinsmen and Bluestone performed during the Independence Day event with kids’ games including sack races, watermelon eating contest and three-legged races as well as mountain games for adults like a crosscut saw contest, wheelbarrow race and a whiskey/lemonade run.

“In my ranks, they’re all men,” Jerry Vencill, a well-known local historian said as he portrayed “Captain Jonah,” a recruiting officer, filling out the ranks of Cole’s Militia to fight with the Overmountain men, the colonial militia from the Appalachian Mountain region who defeated the British Army in the Battle of Kings Mountain in the fall of 1780.

On Vencill’s command, three recruits — Christina, Cassie and Abbigayle Collins, 7, 6 and 3 respectively, all of Lashmeet, picked up wooden replica rifles for some close order — sort of — drill, with Vencill calling out commands and counting cadence for the march. “I thank you for a good drill,” he said to the three recruits.

“We pay them in Continental money that we just made yesterday,” Ellis Cole, recruiting sergeant of Cole’s Militia said. “We sign them up and give them their discharge papers. We think it adds to the total experience.” Costumed interpreters were scattered throughout the park demonstrating blacksmithing, woodworking, spinning, weaving, basket weaving, butter churning, hearth cooking, broom making and other late 18th Century skills.

Whitted expressed thanks to sponsors including ConnCert Music World, Dr. Roy Wright, DVM, Peery & St. Clair Inc./Van’s and Pablo M. Carpio, MD. The reenactors present held a Revolutionary War Reenactment starting at 3 p.m.

— Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com

     

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