Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993 TAG: 9305100383
SECTION: DISCOVER PAGE: 75 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHIE DICKENSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Montgomery County's historical sites are rich and well-docuvmented. Forty-seven individual sites and 11 districts were entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 - the largest Virginia group to receive recognition.
The biggest and most unusual district is the North Fork Rural District, the county's only scenic byway and part of the "76 Trans-America Bike Trail."
The district begins just south of Lusters Gate Village and follows the north fork of the Roanoke River along Virginia 785, extending nine miles to the Roanoke County line. In addition to the rural landscape, homes and barns, there are late-19th-century churches, three mills, a tanyard and a brick kiln. The district has yielded archaeological sites of prehistoric significance.
A beautiful and popular spot is Yellow Sulphur Springs, the one intact example of several 19th century springs resorts in the county. It's about a mile west of U.S. 460 on Yellow Sulphur Road.
A refreshing spot in Blacksburg that is easily missed if you don't know it's there is the Phillips-Ronald House, better known as Five Chimneys. Owned by the town, it sits at Draper Road and Washington Street on a beautifully landscaped property fitted with benches and walkways.
The Christiansburg Post Office is interesting not only because of the architectural detail but because of a 1938 Works Progress Administration mural depicting local events of the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars.
The Prices Fork, Riner and Cambria historic districts each offer a variety of sites in a village setting. The first two districts grew up at well-traveled crossroads. Cambria developed around the railroad depot.
No survey of historic sites in Montgomery County would be complete without mention of Smithfield Plantation, the meticulously restored 1773 home of Col. William Preston. The home is open to the public April 1 to Nov. 1, Thursdays-Sundays, from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults and $1.50 for children under 12. For more information, call 951-2060.
Newbern, Pulaski county's original county seat, was founded in 1810 and was an early example of a planned community. Among the well-preserved structures are the 1842 jail, Newbern Christian Church (1860), the mercantile store (1875), the first public school and several dwellings, including that of the town's founder, Adam Hance.
The Hance home has become the Wilderness Road Regional Museum, operated by the New River Historical Society. The museum is open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday and by appointment. Call (703) 674-4835.
In Pulaski, the county seat, you can visit the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad station that dates from the town's founding in 1856. The Pulaski historic commercial district also includes a blacksmith shop, Jackson Park, the Ratcliff Memorial Museum and the Pulaski County courthouse, newly reconstructed after a 1989 fire.
In Radford, one of the most widely publicized spots is the home site of Mary Draper and William Ingles, better known as the Long Way Home Ampitheatre.
This is where the Ingles built their home after the massacre portrayed in the play "The Long Way Home." Below it is the site of Ingles Ferry. A monument to Mary Draper Ingles that stands in Westview Cemetery, off Pendleton Street, contains stones from the chimney of the Ingles cabin, according to local lore. To get to the Draper-Ingles take Exit 105 off Interstate 81 into Radford and follow the signs.
The oldest house in Radford is Arnheim House, the home of Dr. John Blair Radford, for whom the city was named. Built from 1836 to 1838, the building stands above the public library to the east of Radford High School and is used for classrooms.
by CNB