THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180335
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW KENT LENGTH: 69 lines
A strong sense of privacy has kept New Kent County from telling its story.
``We're rich in history and we haven't told the story yet,'' said Grosjean ``John'' Crump III, president of the New Kent Historical Society.
New Kent, with 13,000 residents, is poised on the edge of a potential population explosion.
``Things have changed a lot, and we believe they're going to change a lot more,'' Crump said.
All that in addition to a steady influx from east and west - Williamsburg and Richmond - of people who prefer a rural lifestyle to an urban one.
Crump said he wants to gather as much historical documentation, preserve as many items, and record as many accounts as possible before all is lost in the county's evolution.
To house items from the past, the historical society recently received permission from the New Kent Board of Supervisors to rent the old jail building for $1 a year.
In the government complex stands the turn-of-the-century jail that the historical society plans to transform into the first museum devoted to the county's history.
E. Taylor Moore lives in one of the old plantations in New Kent and has held gatherings to support the forming of the New Kent Historical Society.
New Kent ``has literally been unchanged for centuries - and here we are less than 50 miles from the founding of our country,'' said Moore, adding that it's possible that the only reason the area has remained sparsely populated is that timber companies and farmers own much of the land. ``I'm afraid that could change.''
Like Crump, Moore suspects the county is on the verge of significant growth. He says it's time to gather and protect New Kent's heritage.
The historical society also plans to overhaul the walls within the administration and court buildings. Crump said the hall spaces will be filled with museum-quality displays. He hopes that exposure to the past will foster in newcomers a sense of identification with New Kent.
The historical society also is interested in the contributions of blacks, many of whom were slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Harriette Kelley DePriest said blacks would not have survived slavery without faith. DePriest, whose grandfather, Armstead Richardson, was a slave at the Marengo Plantation on the Pamunkey River, said the community's relationship to God must be part of the story.
``My mother, Emma Kelley - who is still living - was the maid there,'' DePriest said. ``She served out of the basement every Saturday afternoon when they had tea on the lawn. My granddaddy would open the front gate.''
DePriest's parents eventually moved to Henrico County, but she continues to enjoy occasional drives to the plantation where she was born.
``It means something to your heart to see where you were born,'' DePriest said.
Also not to be overlooked are the American Indians who inhabited the land before the Europeans arrived, Crump said.
The three races have lived together for centuries in New Kent, said Marvin Bradby, chief of the Eastern Division of the Chickahominy Tribe. Bradby served 15 years on the county Planning Commission and retired from the Board of Supervisors in December 1995 after four years on that board.
New Kent County, history reveals, even has a history of horse racing, Crump said. Colonial Downs will not be its first track.
An 1875 history of the area refers to a horse racing track at Windsor Shades, on U.S. 60 near the James City County line, Crump said. Its owner was Col. Richard Graves. The track, along with a hotel, operated during the early 1800s, Crump said.
``We want people to know there's more to New Kent than a horse track,'' he said. ``We want to capture it, want to tell the story in a vibrant way.''