History – Gayle Harvey Real Estate

History of the Charlottesville Dogwood Festival

Who doesn’t love a local carnival and parade? If you’ve ever spent the spring in Charlottesville, you may be familiar with The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival, either through attending it yourself or hearing it described by locals and through media coverage. This pleasant event full of diverse activities has a rich local history, dating back to 1950. This years festival will be held April 7-24th. Read on to learn more about how The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival came about, some of its important milestones, and how it has evolved through the years.

The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival is a popular two-week long springtime event and tourist attraction in Charlottesville, VA, featuring multiple festive happenings and celebrations, including the parade, fireworks, and a carnival. The festival, first carried out in 1950 as an Apple Harvest Festival, aims to exhibit the Charlottesville and Albemarle areas’ cultural and historical heritage and rich natural beauty, and succeeds in doing so to this day.

The Apple Harvest Festival in 1950 was originally held in the fall and was instituted to celebrate and draw attention to Charlottesville’s vibrant culture and booming trade, and specifically to the local apple production industry. Like the current Dogwood Festival, it involved a grand parade and carnival and the choosing and honoring of an annual festival queen. Nancy Hughes was the first Apple Harvest Queen and after her coronation a Queen’s Ball in her honor was thrown at the conclusion of the festival.

The festival’s first president, Sol Weinberg, was a prominent business leader at this time and played many roles in Charlottesville. He was born in nearby Staunton, attended UVA, served on the Charlottesville School Board, and was elected to Charlottesville City Council. He financed the first festival and was appointed mayor of Charlottesville in 1954.

Dogwood Parade The early years of the festival were exciting and successful. The Charlottesville Municipal Band was a staple of the early Dogwood Festival parades. The Charlottesville Municipal Band was formed in 1992 and has been performing continually ever since. You can still expect to see them at the festival. In 1951 the Belmont Bridge was closed because of the immensity of the festival parade and observers stood in the street intersections near the bridge to watch. Businesses took advantage of the massive parade crowds and both supported floats and ran advertisements on wagons in the parade. Local scouting and civil service organizations also traditionally participated in the parade. Awards were and still are given out for parade floats. In 1951 and again in 1953, a team of acrobats performing in the street without nets were a popular parade attraction. In 1956, a pet show was incorporated into the festival and sponsored by the Charlottesville Kennel Club.

In 1958 the name of the festival was changed to The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival in honor of the Virginia state tree and flower. Variations of the Virginia dogwoods (which are woody plants of the cornus species) grow widely in Eurasia, North America, and Canada. The Dogwood is also the state flower of North Carolina. Dogwoods are known for their abundance of white and pink blossoms.

Wallace McDowell was the first president of the newly named festival. Each new Dogwood Festival has a queen; originally she was a paid actress or model who was chosen from a more urban area like Washington D.C. or New York, but later in 1968 the title was instead given to a local princess. The modern festival includes both a full dogwood court and junior court of young women comprised of pageant participants from the surrounding counties, as well as the crowned queen.

E4A71888-2E66-4841-8215-8842C499CAC2 The carnival was and is the widely attended centerpiece of the festivities and is held in McIntire Park. McIntire Park has been a large, popular outdoor recreation venue since the 30’s. Paul Goodloe McIntire financed the land acquisition in the 20’s. McIntire also provided land to the City of Charlottesville for Lee Park, Jackson Park, and Belmont Park. McIntire Park was designed with a rolling, pasture-style layout as well as sports fields, nature trails, playgrounds, and picnic shelters, and during the carnival, it serves as a fair ground. In 1966 the nations’ first Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated during the Dogwood Festival at McIntire Park. The memorial features a gun, helmet, and a pair of boots, and holds a plaque that lists the names of 23 local men who gave their lives in service. It was founded by Jim Shisler and is re-dedicated yearly at the close of the festival with honorary music, the placement of 23 new flags honoring each fallen hero, a relevant speaker, and a 21-gun salute.

The popular Dogwood Track and Field Meet began the tradition of the festival’s skilled running competitions in 1966. The US Army Golden Knights Parachute team were also a big hit of the festival in the 60’s and 70’s. Other notable highlights of the festival throughout time have been the BarBQ, Dogwood tree sale, Benefit “Breakfast in Charlottesville,” movie in the park, the flower show, and the many carnival rides loved by young and old such as the classic, colorful carousel and ferris wheel. As well as providing festivities and commerce for the local community, the festival has carried out and promoted community service through the volunteer activities of the county princesses and queen.

There are other popular dogwood festivals that occur in several cities across the US, including the annual International Dogwood Festival in Winchester (in Franklin County, Tennessee). The Charlottesville version of the Dogwood Festival continues to thrive. Parades, carnivals, good food (including funnel cake), games, prizes and good music continue to please visitors and bring crowds of participants from near and far. For the 65^th festival in 2014, hundreds attended the festival kick-off in McIntire Park. For over half a century the Charlottesville Dogwood Festival has ridden the waves of social and cultural change and continues to stand the test of time. As Elizabeth D. Wood Smith, author of The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival and member of the Dogwood Festival Board of Directors, wrote, “The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival takes pride in being a long-standing part of an area rich in tradition and heritage.”

Sources:

http://www.charlottesvilledogwoodfestival.org/index.php
Smith, E. D. (2005). The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival. Charleston SC: Arcadia.

The Nomenclature of some Central Virginia Towns

Gayle Harvey Real Estate knows the local market, right down to the etymologies of the towns in the Greater Charlottesville area. With a little help from Jean L. Cooper’s A Guide to Historic Charlottesville and Albemarle County, we’ve compiled naming histories for the cities, towns, and unincorporated communities that call central Virginia home. Take a look!

Barracks

As we wrote in this blog, the Barracks area was once a military barracks used to house soldiers during the American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson himself was in charge of the operation, which brought a great deal of revenue from 4,000-odd British and Hessian prisoners. Many of them liked the area so much that they stayed, building homes, lives, and families!

Batesville

The Plank Road area south of Charlottesville leads to Batesville. Originally called Oliver’s Store and then renamed Mount Israel by 1829, the town was finally renamed in honor of the Bates’ an influential family in the area. One source claims that Mr. Bates owned a blacksmith shop. It was settled in the 1730s, making it older than Albemarle itself.

Covesville

This small community is comprised primarily of agricultural farmsteads. It was established in the 1740s by German and Scotch-Irish immigrants seeking religious freedom. A group of Presbyterians founded the town along Rich Cove, a valley in Charlottesville near Cove Creek.

Crozet

Crozet-a census-designated place in Albemarle County-is quickly becoming one of the most popular locations in the Greater Charlottesville area. In 1870, its citizens changed the name of the village from Wayland’s Crossing to Crozet, in honor of Colonel Claudius Crozet. Crozet was a French-born teacher and civil engineer who was instrumental in the construction of the Blue Ridge Tunnel in the 1850s.

Earlysville

Just north of Charlottesville, this small unincorporated community was named for John Early, who settled down with just under 1,000 acres in the general area.

Esmont

Esmont is a small community on rich, fertile land in Albemarle County. When we say small, we mean…less than 600 people. It was named for the Esmont plantation which was an economic driver early in the town’s history.

Free Union

A census-designated place on Albemarle County land, Free Union was originally called Nicksville, after a freed slave named Nick who opened a blacksmith’s shop in the center of town in the 19th century. To avoid confusion with the town of Nixville, the village changed its name to Free Union, after its Free Union Church. The church was “free” because all races could worship there, and it was a “union” of four Christian denominations, none of which could afford a church of their own.

Howardsville

This settlement (originally called Howard’s Landing) was established by planters in the 1730s and 40s, on the northern bank of the James River at the point where it is joined by the Rockfish River. This means that, along with Scottsville, it was one of the founding communities in Albemarle County, predating the foundation of the county itself. The name was changed to Howardsville, but both names are a nod to Allen Howard, one of the original settlement’s principal founders.

Ivy

This crossroad community was probably founded by the Lewis and Woods families in the 1740s along the well-traveled Three Notched Road. That’s Lewis as in Meriwether Lewis, one half of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. Present-day Ivy was originally called Woodville; then Woodville Depot after the arrival of the railroad in 1851; then Ivy Depot (after Ivy Creek, which flowed through the settlement); and finally Ivy.

Keswick

Keswick was technically “founded” in 1849 when the Virginia Central Railroad connected the cities of Charlottesville and Gordonsville. “Keswick” was the name of the estate that was intersected by the line, a piece of property belonging to the Reverend Thornton Rogers on land that may have been a part of Peter Jefferson’s original Shadwell holdings.

How These Fluvanna Communities Got Their Names

Fluvanna County is east of Charlottesville land, with a county of over 25,000 people. It’s conveniently located between Cville and Richmond, two distinct hubs of culture and commerce. Present day Fluvanna’s land was part of Henrico County. In 1727, Henrico split and the land became part of Goochland. It was then passed on to Albemarle County in the wake of another split, and finally became Fluvanna County in 1777 during a pivotal time in U.S. history, just a year after the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. “Fluvanna” is the name given to the James River once it’s west of the city Columbia. It means “Anne’s River”; its namesake is Queen Anne of England. The Rivanna River also flows through the county. Here’s a little bit about some of Fluvanna’s communities.

Bremo Bluff

Sitting on the northern bank of the James River, Bremo Bluff was established by the Cocke family all the way back in 1636! At least, that’s when Richard Cocke received a land patent for 3,000 acres along the James. He named it Bremo Bluff in honor of Braemore, the family’s historical home in the United Kingdom. Confederate General Robert E. Lee visited the community during the Civil War; his wife Mary Custis Lee would stay there occasionally, eager to leave the stressful environment of wartime Richmond.

Columbia

At one time it was the last independent town entirely on Fluvanna County land. Columbia dates back to at least 1788, when it was a stagecoach road situated between the cities of Staunton and Richmond. It’s at the confluence of the Rivanna and the James Rivers. Once called Point of Fork, it was the site of a small battle during the Revolutionary War. It was an incorporated community with a mayor until 2015, when it was deincorporated and reabsorbed by Fluvanna County.

Fork Union

Although Columbia is closer to the titular fork, the name of this town is likely a reference to the point at which the Rivanna and the James meet. It’s known for having the only Presbyterian congregation in Fluvanna, and one of the last remaining drive-in theaters in the entire state. It’s also home to Fork Union Military Academy, a private, all-male military boarding school with Baptist affiliation.

Kents Store

We can’t say for sure, but if we had to guess…there was a guy named Kent. He probably owned a store.

Lake Monticello

This is by far the most populous locale in Fluvanna County, with a population of over 9,000. It’s essentially a commuter town for the nearby city of Charlottesville on land 15 miles southeast of the hub. To a lesser extent, it serves the same purpose for Richmond. There’s also a significant part of the population that is retirement age. It’s centered on a lake of the same name.

Palmyra

On the eastern bank of the Rivanna, Fluvanna’s county seat is Palmyra. Its population was only 104 in the 2010 census, but its postal area, the “Greater Palmyra area” is much more populous as it includes the Lake Monticello community. Palmyra was once owned by the Timberlake family. In 1814, Rev. Timberlake had a five-story brick grist mill built, and he it called Palmyra Mills, hence the name. The mill was burned by Union troops in 1865. The Timberlake family and their relatives the Shepard family owned all but four acres of Palmyra until 1854. They leased the 41 other residences, and only they were allowed to own property in a bizarre, quasi-feudal experiment.

Scottsville

Last but definitely not least is Scottsville, the only independent town in Fluvanna. Technically, Scottsville is on land in Fluvanna County and on land in Albemarle County. Early on, in the 18th century it was the westernmost extension of Virginia trade and government, situated on the James River at a point when rivers were the most efficient way to travel long distances. It was originally called Scott’s Landing, and we can only assume someone named Scott landed, or something. Scottsville was very much in the mix when it came to culture and commerce in central Virginia after the Civil War; lots of money from the Shenandoah Valley was coming in, because of a wagon road which linked the town Staunton, and because of its prime location just 19 miles south of Charlottesville land. At one point it was the largest grain market in the state of Virginia. Its proximity to the James is both a blessing and a curse: Scottsville has flooded 21 times since 1870!