Newsletter Volume I • Issue 2 • December 2007
Return to the Before the Society Page
Events unfold as time flies, and some things are happening really fast and some are slowww. To keep you up-to-date;
Some railroad history has been turned up and will be included in the next book, and I am still making contacts to find more archives of Zuni and Dwight, stations and schedules, freights and etc.
During the drought this summer, I went along the riverside to see if I could find the pillars remaining of the railroad bridge the Confederate Army demolished during the Civil War. I could! Walking along the river bottom, many old shells were scattered around, crunching under foot. I picked some of the whole ones up and showed them to Bobby Clontz of The Nature Conservancy, who identified them as fossils of the state shell ‘Chesapecten jeffersonius’ , several million years old! He recommended I call the College of William and Mary’s geology department to see if they were interested in looking at this site. I did, they were, and in no time we were walking along the river again. Identified were 14 fossils, some quite rare in this area! So, more items to go in the museum of Zuni.
Another call I made was to John Quarstein, the director of museums in Newport News and the host of WHRO’s Here and Then in Hampton Roads segments on the PBS station. I gave him a tour of the Blackwater River ‘attractions’ both in Isle of Wight and Southampton Counties, including the river site of the fossils, the remaining railroad pillars, the earth works along the river, other Civil War sites, the village of Zuni itself, the old wooden railroad bridge on Tucker Swamp Road, etc. He is very interested in including several of these historic sites in the Here and Then in Hampton Roads editions. These cost money, though, to the tune of $2500 each! The sponsor will have a copy of the segment for their own use in advertising, promotion, or other interest. The segment will be shown on WHRO TV for three to five years. I am collecting funds and will find the answer any questions you may have about sponsoring one or part of one of the segments. What a great way to show the history of our area!
Along those lines, I also will make application for non-profit status so any donations ZHS receives will be deductible for the donor. Museum site is, of course, dependant on what is available when we collect the funds and get non-profit status, but continually looking forward to that day! Donations of ‘relics’ and personal items have been received gradually, and all are greatly appreciated and accepted with much gratitude and care.
Kenneth Brantley is researching the decendants of Edward Brantley, who came to Isle of Wight County in 1638, to land granted to him by Governor Berkeley, in the vicinity of Proctors Bridge. If any one has info or would like to learn more, go to the web site www.brantleyassociation.com.
Zuni Christmas Parade, Dec 15, 2007, Fifth edition, 2007. Biggest and best yet!
Along a sadder note, the year has seen the loss of both Earle ‘Doc’ and Charlotte Strickland, Donald Bowden, and Tom Joyner.
Zuni Historical Society
P O Box 107
Zuni, Va 23898