THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 16, 1995 TAG: 9507180443
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover story
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COURTLAND LENGTH: Long : 195 lines
AN EIGHT-SEATER, a four-seater and a one-seater - that's a one-room schoolhouse and two outhouses - are on display at the Southampton Agriculture and Forestry Museum.
Less than a mile away, the Rochelle-Prince House offers a treat for train buffs. And less than a mile away in another direction, Rawls Museum Arts features the work of 30 artists.
Three museums. Not bad for a town of about 1,000.
Courtland, the county seat of Southampton, comes complete with historical buildings, a jail and a courthouse that was established - not in the present downtown location - in 1749. Crops include peanuts, corn, soybeans, watermelons, hogs.
The community began its life in 1791 as Jerusalem.
That name notwithstanding, there was a tavern in the town - several, in fact: Kello's Tavern and Hart's Tavern were next-door neighbors. Exum Scott's was not too far away.
At one time, the town boasted nine bars and two hotels. ``There were a lot of fights,'' according to historian Hamilton Crockford.
The Rev. Lorenzo Dow, a visiting minister, railed about the drinking problem, but not for the usual reasons.
After visiting Jerusalem in 1804, he proclaimed it ``a place noted for wickedness.''
The complaint, Daniel T. Balfour writes in ``Southampton County and Franklin,'' came about because, after his sermon, ``none asked me either to eat or drink, which was the greatest inhospitality I had met with for some time.''
Complaints about life in the quiet, comfortable, cultural Americana town seem few and far between.
There were no complaints about the town's biblical name but, in 1888, postmistress Fannie Barrett opted for a more modern name.
There was a courthouse, so it became Courtland but the name Jerusalem is still around. The town is part of the Jerusalem Voting District and VA. 35 is known as Jerusalem Plank Road.
Tradition suggests another reason for the name change, according to Balfour, who wrote that the postmistress ``was tired of postal authorities and others referring to local residents as `those Arabs in Jerusalem.' ''
Those Hungarians in Courtland began emigrating to the area at the turn of this century.
``Count'' Bela Basho was responsible ``for the immigration to Southampton County of many Hungarian families who took up farming,'' Balfour wrote. ``Because of this settlement, other Hungarians sought refuge in the county following the Hungarian Revolution in 1956.''
Southampton County is well-known for a revolution of another kind - the bloody Nat Turner slave rebellion of 1831. It left many dead - black and white - and resulted in the enactment of stricter slave laws.
Jerusalem did not figure in the event. Turner was thwarted in his effort to get there and find some guns. When it was over, he was taken to town - death by hanging ``from a sycamore, a couple blocks from the courthouse,'' Crockford wrote.
Thomas R. Gray, who wrote the definitive book on the subject, ``The Confessions of Nat Turner,'' was a resident of the town.
A lawyer, he lived in the house referred to as ``Seven Gables,'' located near the courthouse.
Otherwise, Jerusalem was a hub of inactivitity. An 1835 publication notes it was ``stationary for 20 years, having neither retrograded or advanced.''
The town was virtually untouched by the Civil War, continuing quietly after that.
In 1888, however, the Atlantic & Danville Railroad came through, and that was followed by developers and builders.
Here's a guide to cultural Courtland:
ROCHELLE-PRINCE HOUSE
A railroad exhibit can be seen at the historic home/museum. The memorabilia concentrates on the Norfolk and Western Railroad and the Virginian Railway, both of which ran through Southampton County.
The items belong to Anne and H.B. Bryant of Sedley.
``We go to railroad shows, we chase leads, we call other collectors,'' he said, noting that the items on exhibit ``are only half of our eight-year collection.''
His wife, who worked with the Transportation Department of Union Camp, said, ``I got to know several crews of Norfolk Southern and the CSX railroads.''
The oldest railroad item on exhibit is a piece of china, circa 1896.
Many of the display pieces are connected with food including what H.B., also a Union Camp employee, refers to as ``a mysterious piece of silverware patented in 1902.''
Skipping a few years, there is a 1950s menu. The most expensive dinner is a $2.60 plate of beef stew.
The most unsual offering, according to H.B. is ``a gauge lamp, used in the locomotive like a flashlight. It enabled the engineer to see his gauges.''
The exhibit is in the Rochelle-Prince House, which was built in 1814.
One of Dr. James Rochelle's daughters married President John Tyler's son; one of the homeowner's sons was Capt. James Henry Rochelle, a Confederate naval hero.
SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY MUSEUM
Once again, the slave rebellion crops up.
Jeremiah Cobb, chief magistrate at Nat Turner's trial, lived in the ancestral home of Snowdon.
On the grounds was a one-room school, which educated the children of his family, and others who could get there.
Taught by schoolmasters or schoolmarms, ``the subject matter was phenomenal,'' according to local historian Katherine K. Futrell.
In addition to readin', writin' and 'rithmetic there were classes in literature, history, French, astronomy, philosophy, music, art, manners and religion.
All grade levels were covered in the building, which was recently moved to the Southampton County Agriculture and Forestry Museum.
One of the students was William Walter White, a Cobb neighbor who became the third superintendent of the Southampton County School System.
After the Civil War he began teaching at the schoolhouse, spending 27 years there and proudly noting that many of his students went directly from his little classroom to college.
Walter White Cobb, William Walter White's grandson, donated the building to the Southampton County Historical Society.
A portrait of his grandfather came with it.
Adding to the authenticity of the donation are such items as a McGuffey's Reader, an old globe, an iron potbellied stove, a school bell, an inkwell and a 1914 Webster's Dictionary.
Proving there is little that is new under the sun, there is also some graffiti on the oak school desks. Most of it is undecipherable, although you can make out the carved initials P.E. and a stick figure.
Next door to the school is a country dwelling - authentic, but a sanitized version of a tenant home.
It came from Capron, has been painted and repaired. A wood stove, found in a landfill, adds to the authenticity.
Another new addition to the Ag Museum is a four-seater outhouse, carted down from Carrsville - complete with corncobs. A one-seater had been added earlier.
Other attractions include the old Sebrell post office, an old-time back porch, plus a country kitchen, bedroom and parlor.
Also new is an operating table, circa 1902, complete with two cabinets and instruments once used by Dr. E.F. Reese of Courtland.
Farm machinery and household items have been on display since the museum opened in 1991.
Walter Cecil Rawls Library and Museum
This attraction has been in operation since 1957.
It, and a building a few feet up the road, also house Rawls Arts Museum offering programs, classes and exhibits.
The current display is the 32nd annual Rawls Arts Exhibition, featuring 55 entries by 30 artists.
Jane Britt of Franklin, an elementary school art teacher in Southampton County, won ``best-in-show'' and first place in the Professional category for her watercolor of ``Irises.''
Other first-place winners are Mary Lassen of Ahoskie in the Semi-Professional category and M. Lou Flowers of Franklin for an untitled work displayed in the Beginner section.
``What I like about this show was the many individual voices,'' said the judge, Thomas W. Jones, director of the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.
Fine arts and history. Courtland has an abundance of both. ILLUSTRATION: STAFF PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KESTNER
ABOVE: Local historian Kitty Futrell, left, and Helen Howell walk
out to visit the one-room schoolhouse at the Southampton County
Agriculture and Forestry Museum. It was built to accomodate eight
students and one teacher.
RIGHT: Janet Crumpler stands in front of an exhibit of 30 artists on
display at the Rawls Arts Museum.
A presentation lantern is part of the railroad memorabilia on view
at the Rochelle-Prince House.
Map
To visit Courtland, take U.S. 58 Bypass. Look for the Courtland
sign, which will take you to U.S. 58 Business.\
Graphics
ON THE COVER
Kitty Futrell, left, and Helen Howell look over some old books
inside the one-room schoolhouse at the Southampton County
Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Courtland. Staff photo by Michael
Kestner.
WHEN TO VISIT
Rochelle-Prince House, Main Street, from 1 to 4 p.m. the first
Wednesday and third Sunday of each month.
Southampton Agriculture and Forestry Museum, Heritage Lane, from
1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays. Admission is $1.
For information on either location, call 654-6785.
Walter Cecil Rawls Library and Museum, from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Friday;
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Call 653-2821.
Arts Building, 23376 Linden St. 653-0754.
by CNB