Dillwyn, Buckingham County: A Short History, Part V

Henrietta “Dolly” Moseley (Hooper) Culbreth (1881–1976).

Courtesy Harry S. Holman and The Holmans of Virginia

Need to catch up? Click here: Dillwyn, Buckingham County: A Short History, Part I

For decades, Miss Lulie Patteson served as Buckingham County’s unofficial historian and, in later years, often contributed to Charlottesville’s Daily Progress. Her histories of the county included “Dillwyn Grew Up as Lumber Town,” published in 1960. The article ended by discussing the early days of commerce in what would become Buckingham County’s most important commercial center. As usual, Miss Patteson doesn’t hesitate to throw little facts she knew, even if she could not elaborate on them. She concludes her short history:

The first taste of the highway came in 1912 when a sand clay road was built from Dillwyn to Buckingham [Court House].

The lumber business expanded from railroad ties to grinding tan bark, lath-making and shingle manufacturing. Wood industries employed about 100 men a day at individual wages ranging from $.50 to $1.25 a day. The surrounding forests were torn to shreds as the wood-buying business reached further into the county’s woodland. But wood kept flowing into the yards at Dillwyn.

A Dr. Mitchell came to practice medicine in the area in 1900. Prior to this, a Dr. Pratt of Buckingham served the community.

This was likely Dr. W. E. Pratt whose obituary was published on May 16, 1901 in the Richmond Dispatch. Click here to read it and learn about is final illness: Buckingham Notables: Dr. W.E. Pratt

Lulie Patteson ended her article with these tidbits:

Tobacco buying boosted business for a while. White built a tobacco warehouse in the “Bottom,” and Dunlop and Venerable bought tobacco for a while.

A Negro by the name Ford was the first baby born in Dillwyn. The first death was young Charles Marshall, a nephew of White’s. The first burial in the town was Mrs. Culbreth, mother of H. M. Culbreth.

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For more about Henrietta Moseley Culbreth, click here: Buckingham Correspondents: Mrs. H. M. Culbreth

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For much more about early churches and schools in Buckingham County, search the archives at Slate River Ramblings.

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For much, much more about Miss Lulie, search the archives at Slate River Ramblings and consult my essay, “Miss Lulie Patteson: Early Buckingham Historian” in “At a Place Called Buckingham,” now available at Amazon.