The Giles County Historical Society Receives Grant from the Community Foundation of the New River Valley

  The Community Foundation of the New River Valley has chosen the Giles County Historical Society as one of its 2012 spring grant recipients.  The proposal entitled “Putting Power to Our Point” received $400 for a digital projector for its new lecture series.  The Community Foundation funds a variety of projects across the New River Valley believing that modest grants, like the one received by the Historical Society, can have tremendous impact on local communities.  This spring the foundation awarded over $26,000 to local non-profits.

In 2011, the Historical Society hosted two lectures:  “The Mystery at Mountain Lake” by Detective Mark Skidmore of the Giles County Sheriff’s Office (September), and “Lost Communities of Virginia” by local author Terri Fisher (November).  Both presentations were well attended.  Based on these number and the positive comments received about the two lectures, the Historical Society decided to offer a lecture series as part of 2012 calendar of events.  Among the goals of the lecture series are to promote the cultural and historical heritage of Giles County and the New River Valley, to showcase local authors and historians, particularly those beginning their careers, to provide an avenue for the public to learn more about Giles County beyond simply viewing artifacts, and to create dialogue about the culture and history of Giles County and the New River Valley and how the influences have impacted the community.

The Historical Society’s next lecture will be Thursday, June 7^th, at 7:00pm at the Pearisburg Town Hall.  To kick off the Civil War Weekend, Giles County native and Roanoke attorney George A. McLean Jr. will be discussing his new book The Skirmish at Pearisburg, the first comprehensive history of the Union invasion of Giles County in 1862.

On June 23^rd, the Historical Society presents “The Negro Spiritual: History and Performance” at 3:00 at the First Baptist Church of Virginia Heights in Pearisburg.  A talk by Virginia Tech professor Dr. Paula Marie Seniors on the origins of the spiritual and its role in African-American culture will be followed by a performance by the “Spirits of Joy.”   For further information on the lecture series visit www.gilescountyhistorical.org.

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.

  In one of the Historical Society's lecture series, Giles County Sheriff's Investigator Mark Skidmore describes the investigation into the body found at the bottom of Mountain Lake in 2008. The Historical Society received a grant from the Community Foundation of the New River Valley to purchase a powerpoint projector so that lectures can now be hosted at the Museum.