Editor, Smithfield Times:

Concluding my series of letters on local history heroes:

Mary Cole of Christ Episcopal Church arranged for the sanctuary to host the sesquicentennial reenactment of the 1864 “Yankee gunboats are in the creek” alarm that led off that Smithfield-centered and well-attended 150th anniversary event in 2014. She reprised her dedication to local history in 2021 when the church hosted the centennial commemoration of Smithfield’s “great fire.”

Lanny Hinson, et al., of Smithfield’s 1750 Courthouse staff make this historic edifice the focal point of telling the town’s compelling role in Isle of Wight County’s development from 1750 to 1800. Thousands of visitors have toured this iconic building guided by volunteer docent guides for the past decade and more.

John Brayshaw’s small booklet and map of historic post offices in the county greatly adds to the knowledge passed down by Helen Haverty King. And former US Army missile technician Ira Abbott recalls first-hand experiences for guests who take the quarterly walking tour of Nike-Ajax Site N-75L, Carrollton’s only State and National Historic District.

And let’s not forget the Isle of Wight County Museum’s masterful videos, texts, audios, digital narratives, talks, lectures, outreach programs, documents, transcriptions, visual displays, educational materials, resources, publications, archival work, artifact curation and preservation, restoration and local history productions that have been done by Jennifer England, director of our county museum, and her staff for the past 17 years.

 

Albert P. Burckard Jr.

Carrollton