Henry County - Hardcover

Perry, Thomas D

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1531644023 ISBN 13: 9781531644024

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Library Editions, 2009

Synopsis

Formed in January 1777, Henry County was named for the Commonwealth of Virginia's first governor, Patrick Henry, who lived in the county from 1779 until 1784. Located along the border of North Carolina, the county was once home to the famous antebellum Hairston family. In the 20th century, textiles, furniture, and the chemical manufacturer DuPont made up the large industrial base of the county. With the recent outsourcing of jobs, the county has turned to other economic sources such as the Martinsville Speedway, Virginia Museum of Natural History, and the Bassett Historical Center, which provided most of the photographs in this book.

About this title

About the Author

Thomas D. Perry grew up in neighboring Patrick County. A graduate of Virginia Tech, Perry started the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace in 1990. The nonprofit organization has preserved 75 acres of Stuart property in Ararat, including the housing site where Civil War general James Ewell Brown Stuart was born. Tom is the author of six other books, including The Free State of Patrick: Patrick County Virginia in the Civil War and J. E. B. Stuart’s Birthplace: the History of the Laurel Hill Farm. Perry produces a monthly email newsletter about regional history from his website www.freestateofpatrick.com.

Review

Title: Book Reviews

Author: Joe Tennis

Publisher: Bristol Herald

Date: 3/14/2010
Author Thomas D. Perry takes a nostalgic look at Martinsville and Henry County, Va., in a recently released collection of historic photographs.
The timing couldn’t come better for this 128-page book.

The region of Martinsville and Henry County has been hit hard with factory closings and layoffs in recent years.
Still, this book recalls a more vibrant town, when Martinsville’s textiles interests made it the “Sweatshirt Capital of the World.”
Today, the uptown Martinsville area has been re-invented with a newly opened higher education facility near the old Henry County Courthouse. New owners have also taken over old buildings. The uptown district is also home to a trail built atop an old railroad.
“Henry County, Virginia: Images of America” shows photos of old times in Martinsville, including the locomotives that once ran on that rails-to-trails path.
The book’s cover depicts the John D. Bassett High School varsity cheerleaders, pictured in the 1970 Bassett Christmas parade, holding a “Bassett Bengal” mascot.
Inside, a map shows Henry County along the North Carolina border, formed in 1777 and named for Patrick Henry. The county once stretched into parts of what are now Carroll, Franklin and Patrick counties.
Of course, a book about this region would not be complete without a shot of NASCAR’s mammoth Martinsville Speedway. While it now seats several thousand, that track opened in 1947 as a dirt track with seats for 750.

Title: Pictorial history of area to aid Bassett Historical Center

Author: Debbie Hall

Publisher: Martinsville Bulletin

Date: 3/2/2009
Tom Perry, historian, lecturer and author, isn’t complaining about his hectic schedule.
He recently returned from lecturing in Wytheville and before that, he was in Philadelphia.
This week, he will be in Martinsville and Henry County signing copies of a book titled “Images of America in Henry County.”
The book is dedicated to the history of the area. Perry is donating all royalties from the book’s sales to help fund an $800,000 expansion of the Bassett Historical Center.
The cost of the book is $22. Books sold at the historical center contribute $44 by the time a matching grant from The Harvest Foundation is factored in.
The book was released today, and Perry will hold book signings at the historical center and at Fast Track on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Copies of the book also will be available Saturday during the Bassett Historical Symposium, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at EMI Imaging, across the street from the center.
Several other book signings will be held throughout the area, and Perry as well as Pat Ross and others at the historical center hope sales soar.
The book contains four chapters ― one each dedicated to Bassett, Fieldale, Martinsville and Henry County. It basically is a compilation of about 200 photos submitted by residents such as former Martinsville fire chief Jerry Brock, Teddy Compton, Doug Steagall, Avis Turner and others.
Dr. John Bing “went around and knocked on doors” to get photos for the project that represents “a snapshot of life,” Perry said.
A picture of Pam Armstrong, wife of Del. Ward Armstrong and chairman of the Virginia Museum of Natural History, and her fellow cheerleaders at J.D. Bassett High School is on the front cover, and Perry jokes he made her “a cover girl.”
The snapshot is one of more than 1,700 contributed for the project. Perry said he tried to include at least one photo from each of those who submitted material.
If this book does well, there are plenty of leftover photos for future volumes on different areas of the county, Perry said.
Sitting at one of the tables in the War Room in the historical center, he was quick to talk about his first visit to the center several years ago.
While sitting in the same spot, Perry said he looked to a nearby shelf and saw a brick from J.E.B. Stuart’s birthplace on display.
“I just started to laugh,” said Perry, who also has written several books about Stuart. When he saw the brick, “I knew I was home.”
At the time, Perry had never written or published a book, he said, but by the end of this year, he will have 10 volumes in print.
Much of his research has been done at the center, which he has dubbed “the best little library in Virginia” because of the reference material available.
He also believes it is the third top attraction to the area, behind Martinsville Speedway and the Virginia Museum of Natural History.
Researchers from every state in the United States and nine foreign countries, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, England, Canada, Luxembourg, Taiwan, and Italy, have visited the center. It houses more than 11,000 books on genealogy, about 7,000 genealogy family files and local company collections from DuPont, Tultex, Bassett-Walker and Blue Ridge Hardware & Supply Co., according to its Web site.
No matter how busy his schedule, Perry visits the center frequently, even though it is a 100-mile round-trip from his Patrick County home.
When he visits now, Perry has another story to share. A slide projector he once used when giving lectures about Stuart is prominently displayed beside the brick ― another of his gifts to the center.
“I thought that would be a good place for it,” Perry said.
For more information about the book, the historical center expansion or other projects, visit www.bassetthistoricalcenter.com or www.freestateofpatrick.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Library Editions
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1531644023
• ISBN 13: 9781531644024
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 130