Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 16, 1995 TAG: 9507170003
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO BOOK PAGE EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Local histories are a small but significant part of the book business. Deliberately aimed at a regional audience, they're almost always written out of the purest of motives - love - and so they vary widely in terms of quality, professionalism and accuracy. The emphasis is usually on a rosy view of the past.
"Franklin County Virginia 1786-1986" is a happy exception. Though it was commissioned by the Franklin County Bicentennial Commission, it's not a flattering "official" history. It was written by two relative outsiders (from Richmond), John and Emily Salmon, who combine a professional historian's thorough research with a popular writer's sense of conflict and drama. Of course, parts of their book will be of interest only to those who are already involved with the subject. But the authors' real subject is the personalities of the people who have been involved in Franklin County's history.
This isn't a book of dates, courthouse records and statistics - though all of those are included - it's a book of people. On the cover, for example, the "emblem of justice" is flanked by photographs of two of Franklin County's most famous residents, Booker T. Washington and Jubal A. Early.
In 1862, John Wise wrote of Early, "His likes and dislikes he announced without hesitation, and, as he was filled with strong and bitter opinions, his conversation was always racy and pungent. His views were not always correct, or just, or broad; but his wit was quick, his satire biting, his expressions were vigorous, and he was interestingly lurid and picturesque."
The discussion of Booker T. Washington's contributions to Franklin County begins in relation to slavery. On that still contentious subject, the authors tell the story so clearly and persuasively, it will probably anger those who would minimize the importance of the institution both before the war and after it.
Among the book's other highlights are the stories of "the bold robber and highwayman" Joseph T. Hare and, of course, the notorious business of bootlegging. Overall, the Salmons have done a remarkable job of compressing 200 years of history as it affected all levels of Franklin County society into one thick, well-illustrated volume.
by CNB