Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 19, 1992 TAG: 9201170178
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
SOLITUDE HAS NEW FRIENDS
As the 18th century drew to a close, the Preston family built a log house by a pond along Strubbles Creek in Montgomery County.The family called the cabin in the woods, away from the main house of the Smithfield Plantation, "Solitude."
Now, as the 20th century draws to a close, Solitude enters another phase of its nearly 200-year life - providing a link to the heritage of Virginia Tech and a home for the university's Appalachian Studies Program.
"People made a new life for themselves in the mountains," explained Jean Speer, the director of Virginia Tech's Appalachian Studies Program.
"It was very appropriate. When the Land Grant Act passed, the school was here. It aimed to make education more democratic and egalitarian. In a sense, that very same thing happened as people moved to these mountains. They found their new life that was more democratic and egalitarian."
In the intervening two centuries, Solitude has been the home for two governors - John Floyd and John Buchanan Floyd - and Robert Preston, the founder of the Olin and Preston Institute, forerunner of Virginia Tech.
It also has been a faculty home, a social center for post-World War II veterans who lived in a trailer camp around the house, the original home of the Hokie Club, and, most recently, classroom and office space for the College of Human Resources and the Department of Interior Design.
Unfortunately, all of that wear and tear has taken a toll. Jacks in the basement support the house. Termites have eaten some of the floors and underpinnings. The ceiling is peeling away in places. And the second-story floor slants to one side.
So the university's Public Relations Student Society of America has made the house its project. It took on the task of letting everyone know that the white house by the Duck Pond has a rich history. Even with its Greek Revival architecture, its green roof and shutters and its four red brick chimneys, the house has remained relatively obscure to most members of the Virginia Tech community.
"I give tours for high school students," said Theresa Caragol, president of the public relations society. "No one used to mention Solitude. Now everyone makes it a part of the tour."
The society did more than promote Tech's piece of history. It used its public relations skills to help raise funds for what is fast becoming one of the better-known places on campus.
A "Save Our Solitude" campaign coincided with the week of the last football game of the season in November. Students were asked to contribute money for renovations of the buildings during dollar days. Merchants provided prizes as part of the weeklong celebration. And the events culminated with "S.O.S." - Save Our Solitude - flashed on the scoreboard during the East Carolina game.
The society also has gotten other groups involved. Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society, helped raise money during the dollar days. The service society Chi Delta Alpha has decided to make a contribution to help with repairs to Solitude to mark the society's 25th anniversary at the university. The Society of Civil Engineering Students has promised to study the drainage problems around the house. And history students will do additional research on the building and the era in which it was built.
The hope is to create a student organization much like the existing Friends of Solitude.
Already, the discovery of this piece of history has given Tech students a new sense of pride.
"Archaeological digs have found Indian remains that are 3,000 to 5,000 years old," said Regina Sluss, a senior in communication studies who has done research on Solitude and presented it to English classes.
"And there are a lot of artifacts from the middle of the 19th century. So in some ways we're older than UVa. It was the week of the [University of Virginia football] game and the class liked hearing that."