Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505090045
SECTION: DISCOVER NRV PAGE: DNRV-47 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWBERN LENGTH: Medium
Actually, the museum officials confess, the legend of a ghostly resident is apocryphal. The other-wordly manifestations are the result of the building's age. It's so old that it - and even the antique beds in it - have begun to sag.
Indeed, the past is an undeniable presence throughout Newbern, perhaps more so than in any other place in the New River Valley. The atmosphere, architecture and attitudes are not unlike those at the historical sites in Williamsburg, Jamestown and areas around Charlottesville.
The town's Heritage Day - May 13 - will be a good time to visit. Museum officials and residents will put on a display of authentic dress and lifestyles, featuring food, music, crafts and drama.
The town of a few hundred residents retains its historic charm today at least in part because it was bypassed by Interstate 81, which lies a few miles and many years away. But another road had a much more profound impact on Newbern.
The community began as a rest stop on the Wilderness Road, conveniently located between Ingles Ferry and Hans Meadow (now called Christiansburg) to the east and Evansham (now called Wytheville) to the west. The Wilderness Road was the interstate highway of the day for settlers, leading them through otherwise impenetrable forests and over the easiest mountain passes.
"Everybody going west from Philadelphia and all came through here," said James Tabor, president of the New River Historical Society.
Situated on a ridge top, Newbern offered wide vistas and a haven to weary travelers. But water was a hard find, lending the town's existence an incongruous quality, and making fires all the more dangerous.
Newbern became the only town in the state to be listed in its entirety in the state and national Register of Historic Places, in 1979.
The historical society opened the regional museum in 1980, filling it with an eclectic mix of pre-Civil War household artifacts and everyday items from the lives of pioneers and American Indians. Today, visitors will find surprises around every corner, ranging from family Bibles to a working loom to arrowheads and spear points. The museum is also a repository for county and town archives, and is a resource for people who are doing genealogical research.
Even the building is historic, dating from when the town was first blossoming. The museum building was constructed piecemeal in 1810 and 1816 and later joined to form a labyrinthine structure. Henry Hance, who designed a blueprint for the community and enacted building codes, and his son, Henry, who became postmaster and tavern owner, were early residents of it.
Newbern, named by Swiss settlers, eventually became Pulaski County's seat, with a stately courthouse presiding over Main Street. It featured a town water system to provide easier access to the few nearby streams, and stores and a hotel.
But the town's water system couldn't save the courthouse when it burned in 1893, ending Newbern's time in the spotlight. The county seat moved to the town of Pulaski.
Since then other fires have ravaged other historic buildings in the town, leaving empty lots along Main Street.
But Newbern retains a sense of vibrancy, made palpable since the museum opened. It sponsors yearly dinners, genealogical workshops, a Confederate winter camp and a fall arts and crafts show, which draws up to 25,000 people, said Ann Bailey, the museum's director.
Main Street itself is an attraction, too; visitors o use a walking tour map provided by the museum to find historic sites. Time spent at the nearby Wilderness Inn restaurant complements a visit to the town.
Museum officials will arrange private and group tours of the town. Call 674-4835 for more information.
by CNB