What did Giles County look like 160 years ago?

What did Giles County look like 160 years ago?  A new exhibit at the Historical Society Museum portrays a landscape much like today, with picturesque farms and areas of great natural beauty. “On the Eve of War: Artists’ Views of Giles County in the Mid-Nineteenth Century” features the work of Edward Beyer and Lewis Miller, who recorded their impressions of Giles in the 1850’s.

Giles County was already a popular tourist destination at that time.  Among the many visitors drawn to its famous hot springs resort on the New River (near present-day Eggleston), and to Virginia’s highest lake, were these two artists who delighted in depicting the area’s scenic attractions and life at the resorts. 

Edward Beyer, a polished European painter, and Lewis Miller, a self-taught Pennsylvania German folk artist, brought distinctly different artistic visions to their subjects. Their work captures a view of the county in a time of peace and relative prosperity just before the Civil War would devastate the region and plunge Giles County into a period of economic austerity that would last for decades.

Lewis Miller, a carpenter from York, Pennsylvania, visited Southwest Virginia for several decades before finally settling in Christiansburg, where he died in 1882 at the age of 87.  His charming sketches of excursions into Giles County by horse and buggy provide modern historians and art lovers alike with a detailed view of the daily life of farmers, tradesmen and slaves at work, as well as elegant ladies and gentlemen on day-trips to see the sights. 

Edward Beyer came to America from Germany in 1848 for a ten-year sojourn, earning his living as an itinerant artist traveling from New York to southern Virginia.  His most famous work is the Album of Virginia, a collection of 40 colored lithographs depicting bustling towns, stately country estates, scenic mountain landscapes, and Virginia’s famous hot springs resorts which drew wealthy visitors from through the East.  Three of the lithographs, included in the exhibit, depict favorite tourist destinations in Giles County: Salt Pond (Mountain Lake) and Bullard Rock (part of the Palisades.)  The exhibit runs through July 15.

The Giles County Historical Society works to preserve, interpret and exhibit Giles County’s rich historical and cultural heritage.  It provides a repository for Giles County family histories, documents and artifacts, assists genealogical researchers, and supports the preservation of endangered Giles County artifacts, sites and records.  The Giles County Historical Society, Museum and Gift Shop (921-1050) are open Wed-Fri from 12-5 PM and Sat-Sun from 2-5 PM.  Admission is free.  The Research Office is open on Thursday from 12–5 PM.  For more information, visit www.gilescountyhistorical.org.

Trip to Mountain Lake. A new exhibit at the Historical Society features the work of two artists who painted scenes of Giles County before the Civil War. Seen here is a detail of an 1853 painting by Lewis Miller depicting a party of tourists from Christiansburg on an excursion to Mountain Lake.

Moonlight fishing at the Palisades. In this 1857 lithograph by Edward Beyer, guests from nearby Chapman's Springs resort enjoy an evening on the New River.

War Of 1812

The history world has been preoccupied lately with the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, with reenactments and other events planned to commemorate the men (and women) in blue and gray. But another important milestone occurs this year —the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Often called America’s “second war of independence”, the causes of the war included America’s desire to expand its territory, British attempts to restrict American trade, and the Royal Navy's impressment of American seamen into British service.

During the war the young United States suffered many defeats at the hands of the British, including the capture of Washington and the burning of the White House in August of 1814 (when First Lady Dolley Madison famously saved the portrait of George Washington from the fire). In the end, American troops were able to ward off British invasions in New York, Baltimore, and New Orleans, and were ultimately victorious. The war ended with the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent on February 17, 1815.

Giles County sent a considerable number of men who served at different times during the war. Early in 1815 Captain Andrew Johnston (who later built the Historical Society’s current home) organized a company of soldiers and was ordered to march to Norfolk. When they reached Bedford County they received the welcome news that a peace treaty had been signed and they were able to return home.

Over a century later a tattered piece of paper was found in the wall of a log cabin in neighboring
Montgomery County. This document contained a list of veterans from the War of 1812, including men from Giles County, many of whose descendants live in the county today. Giles men known
to have served in the War of 1812 include: Major James Bane, Lt. John Bane, Ens. Peter Blake, Lt. William Blake, Berry Blankenship, Ens. Andrew Bogle, Ens. William Brown, Lt. John Cook, Capt. Hiram Davis, Jesse Diamond, Ens. Charles Dingess, Benjamin Duncan, Lt. William French, Daniel Fry, George Fry, John Fry, Capt. John Harvey, Major R.M. Hutchinson, Lt. Samuel Hutchinson, Capt. Andrew Johnston, Capt. David Johnston, Capt. Charles King, Thomas Kirk, Jacob Lucas, Nelson Lucas, Ens. Price Lucas, Lt. Ralph Lucas, Ens. William Lucas, Pct. William
Lucas, Ens. John McClaugherty, Ens. Elisha McComas, Capt. Joseph McDonald, Ens. Stephen McDonald, Ens. Patrick Napier, William Oney, Lt. James Orr, Capt. George N. Pearis, Capt. John Peters, Capt. David Price, Alexander Porterfield, William Porterfield, James Sarver, Lt. John Shannon, Capt. William Smith, Christian Snidow, Capt. John Snidow, John Spangler, Ralph Stafford, Jr., Daniel Stanley, James Stanley, John Stanley, Lt. James Straley, Ens. Joseph Taylor, Ens. Enos Walker, Capt. CHA Walker, Henry Walker, Julius Walker, Alexander Williams, Ens. GeorgeWilliams.

The Giles County Historical Society works to preserve, interpret and exhibit Giles County’s rich
historical and cultural heritage. It provides a repository for Giles County family histories, documents and artifacts, assists genealogical researchers, and supports the preservation of
endangered Giles County artifacts, sites and records.