Well Water Post Office, Photo by Jeremy Winfrey
In early 1875, bids were offered to carry the mail from New Canton to Well Water, delivering it twice per week to the local post offices in northeastern Buckingham County. The bidders were eight men of Buckingham and one firm, Finley & Freeman. My ancestor, John T.L. Woodson, was among them, as was Frank N. Maxey who founded the community at Well Water.
Woodson bid a proposed salary of $350.00 per annum for the job; F.N. Maxey undercut him at $312.00. Ultimately, the contract was awarded on March 8, 1875, to George W. Maxey, of Well Water, with a very low bid of $234.00 per annum.
The route was Thursdays and Saturdays, departing Well Water at 4 a.m., arriving at New Canton by 11 a.m. The return left New Canton at Noon, arriving at Well Water by 7 p.m.
Nearly two decades later, in 1893, John T.L. Woodson was awarded the contract for the mail route. Promptly, however, he moved to Richmond and his neighbor, W.A. Maxey, took over.
Read more about Frank N. Maxey and the founding of Well Water in “At a Place Called Buckingham”
Rose Hill, circa late 1940s
Photo by Kenneth Madison McDonald, Courtesy Rosemary Holdredge
According to a family history written by Alberta Anderson Caldwell:
Sometime in the late Fall of 1862 or early Spring of 1863 Richard Malone and his wife Mary Ann Peterson Malone sold their property on Church Hill in Richmond, Virginia and moved to Buckingham County about five miles west of the Courthouse where they bought a thousand acres and named it “Rose Hill.”
In addition to farming, Richard Malone established a school on his property. It began as a one-room, log structure to serve the children in the neighborhood. Click here for more about the history of the Malone School.
~
In the early 20th century, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hutson Anderson ran a store and a post office at Rose Hill. Originally, the building sat about twenty-five yards in front of the main house. According to records kept for U.S. Postmasters, Charles H. Anderson served as Postmaster at Malone from June 7, 1901 – January 31, 1906, perhaps longer. When the mail delivery for the neighborhood moved to Andersonville and the Malone Post Office closed in 1906, the structure was moved to the north side of the house next to the original kitchen which is now used as a stripping house.
Today, Frank B. Caldwell, III, and his son, Frank B. Caldwell, IV, own 250 acres of the original 1000-acre farm at Rose Hill, marking six generations of continuous ownership in the family. During 2005-2007, the elder Frank, who grew up on the farm, renovated the original house.
Happy 350th Post ~ Slate River Ramblings!
350 posts is a lot of Buckingham County history! Explore the archive at Slate River Ramblings.
Just enter a keyword in the box in the panel on the right-hand side.
Try “Civil War” or “houses” or a surname that interests you. Search for churches, school teachers, mysteries, and much, much more!
Have fun!
Tucker School (c. 1890)
Teacher Julia Augusta Tapscott Moseley is pictured in the third row.
Photo Courtesy Revis Leigh (Baber) Eckler Collection and Carole Jenson
More teachers who appeared on the 1894 list have been identified. Thanks to Slate River Ramblings reader, Jeremy Winfrey!
- James Nathan Ayres (1849-1906), son of Mathias Leake Ayres and Martha Rebecca Hanes. He married Ann Virginia Brown and lived on the Slate River near present day Route 20.
- Hannah Laura Winfrey (1870-1935), daughter of CSA veteran George Hill Winfrey and Judith Catherine Robertson. She married George McKenna “Jake” Ayres and they lived on present day Route 721.
- Alice Walker Norvell (1872-1938), daughter of CSA veteran Thomas Benson Norvell and Mary Evalina Miller. She married Nelson Tindall Sr. and they operated the store at Centenary.
- Sidna Brown Steger (1874-1931), daughter of CSA veteran John Wesley Steger and Mary Elizabeth Brown. She married James T. Snoddy. They lived near the James River, near Fallsburg.
- Julia Augusta Tapscott Moseley (1852-1936), daughter of CSA veteran George Nicholas Tapscott and Ann E Scruggs. She married Mathias Leake Ayres Moseley and they lived at Tucker in the old Elbridge G. Jefferson home, Millbrook. The Tucker School and the Tucker Post Office were on this property.
- Susan Eldridge (1865-1942), daughter of John Rolfe Eldridge and Mary Eliza Hanes.
- Mary Gertrude Norvell (1874-1962), daughter of Thomas Benson Norvell and Mary Evalina Miller. The Norvells owned the land opposite the Tucker School. She married William Reginald Walker of Richmond.
- George Allan Tapscott CSA (1850-1935), son of CSA veteran, George Nicholas Tapscott, and Ann E.Scruggs. Married first to Mary E. Baber, second to Kate Norvell. He grew up in what would become Tucker, and lived just south of Route 652 on the west side of Sharps Creek Rd. After 1910, he and Kate moved to Hatton.
Click here to see them listed: Buckingham County School Teachers I and Buckingham County School Teachers II.
Williams Mills, c. 2000, Photo Courtesy Alice Scott
Circa 1950, Vallie Booth wrote about Williams Mill and its long-time owner Roy Gormus:
Meet Roy Gormus . . . Versatile Miller
Do you want some corn meal ground? Call Roy Gormus. Need any logs sawed? Call Gormus. Desire the services of a blacksmith? Call Gormus. Fresh out of supplies at the country store? Call Gormus. J. Roy Gormus is a mighty important man in his neck of the woods. He operates a general store, sawmill and grist mill.
Roy Gormus (1878—1965), Photo by William Edwin Booth
Roy Gormus was the epitome of a useful man in Buckingham County. He told Vallie Booth:
“Specialize? Not me! I like to keep busy all the time. By doing a bit of everything. I help more people. They just come to me, and chances are that because I generalize I’m their man. It gives a guy a feeling the he is a useful man in the community.”
Special thanks to Alice Scott for sharing her family history.
Williams Mill, Photo Courtesy Alice Scott
In 1937, Garnett Williams surveyed Williams Mill for the Virginia Historic Inventory. She traced the owners from James I. Berryman (abt. 1840-1866) to Samuel Williams (1866-1885) to a Mr. Saunders (1885-1896) to Roy Gormus (1896-present). Mrs. Williams stated that the mill was one of the oldest of its type found in the state and believed it to be the oldest in the county.
Located on Randolph Creek in Buckingham County, the operation was 1.2 miles west of Nuckols on Route #622. Garnett Williams wrote that the building had seven rooms including a large basement and that all the machinery was original. The wheels, cogs, and huge water wheel all were made of wood.
In 1870, Samuel Williams, whose name stuck to the mill, was a fifty-one year old millwright living with his five young children. His property was worth $10,000 reflecting the impressive value of the mill.
According the Guy Woodson, Jr. who wrote an article about the mill for The Farmville Herald, Knight Saunders was an owner. In a later article, Vallie Booth identified him as W.K. Saunders.
In 1900, Thomas Raikes, age forty-three, was the miller. He was killed at the mill in December of 1917. Guy Woodson wrote, “An accident of note about sixteen years ago was the fatal injury of Tom Raikes, when he was caught by a large wheel and killed. Being alone at the mill when the accident occurred, he was dead before aid arrived.”
Raikes’ daughter, Alice, married John “Roy” Gormus, who followed in his father-in-law’s footsteps at the Williams Mill.
To be continued. . . .
Park Place (1982), Photo by Hal Coleman
During his lifetime, Wilson D. Coleman (1918—2013) wrote down some of his memories of growing up in Buckingham County, especially focusing on his youth spent at the Coleman farm, Park Place. Wilson was born there and lived on the farm until 1941 when he left for service in World War II.
No doubt, these details of life at Park Place during the first half of the twentieth century might apply to other farms in Buckingham. Wilson Coleman recalled:
The original buildings on the farm were constructed from lumber grown on the farm. The dwelling was sided with boards sawed from heart pine. It was built in 1850 and not blessed with paint until 1930. . . .
The kitchen house was long gone by my time. I don’t know what became of it. All I can remember about it was the existence of some large stones that had been its foundation. It must have been victim of a fire disaster but I don’t remember anyone talking about it.
The farm boasted just three “outbuildings” in the early days, the barn, the ice house, and the tobacco house. The barn was a log structure about twenty feet by twelve. . . .
The tobacco house was the largest building on the place. It was about thirty-five feet square and stood at least three stories high. . . .
The ice house was gone before my time. It had been located about forty feet from the east end of the dwelling. . . .
Cave at Snowden, Photo by David Spears
The October issue of the Scottsville Monthly features my newest article about one of my favorite subjects, Randolph Jefferson and his plantation, Snowden.
Pick up a copy or, if you live outside of the Scottsville area, click here to to download a PDF:
“Thomas Jefferson Did Not Sleep Here: The Cave at Snowden”
Enonville School (1972)
Photo by Wilson D. Coleman, Courtesy Bill Coleman
In 1894, the teachers working at the public school at Enonville, Buckingham County, were Mr. J. L. Coleman, Miss Rosa Coleman, Miss M. L. Coleman, and Miss L. H. Gillespie. Slate River Ramblings reader Hal Coleman recognized them all: Mr. J. Lee Coleman (1845—1920), Rosalind Coleman (1869—1934), and Minnie Lucy (a.k.a. Lucy Mildred) Coleman (1871—1931). Lelia Gillespie, Hal added, was “my dad’s favorite teacher.”
In 1900, Lelia H. Gillespie was living with her parents, brothers, and sister in Buckingham County’s Maysville District. She was thirty-nine years old, born in August of 1860. That year, she was included in the Virginia State Teacher’s Directory. In 1910, she remained in the household with her unmarried siblings, James, who worked as a farmer; her sister, Annie; and Robert Gillespie, who worked as a merchant.
Click here to see: Buckingham County School Teachers I and Buckingham County School Teachers II.
Autum Rambles in Buckingham County, Photo by Joanne Yeck
If you follow Slate River Ramblings via Facebook, consider following the blog and get each new post in your inbox.
Just visit Slate River Ramblings and enter your email address in the box on the right-hand side that reads: “Follow Blog Via Email”
slate river ramblings . . . . 