History Snippits Contributed by Beverly Lipford-Yeager
(These contributions are somewhat loosely organized here. They will be grouped into better order soon.)

Henry County established in 1777

Henry County, Virginia, was established in 1777 from part of Pittsylvania County. It was originally named Patrick Henry County in honor of Patrick Henry, who was then serving as the first Governor of Virginia after independence.
In 1785 the northern part of Patrick Henry County was combined with part of Bedford County to form Franklin County.
In 1790 Patrick Henry County was split into two counties, the western part becoming Patrick County and the rest becoming Henry County.
Source: Wikipedia.org

Henry County Courts

By an act of the Assembly of October 1776, Henry County Court was first held in the home of John Rowland on the third Monday in January. Records show that 630 citizens took the oath of allegiance to the United States and about 40 refused to renounce their allegiance to Great Britain. There were many more people living in the county than this indicates, either away hunting and trading or serving in the army under George Washington.
Source: The Historical News, Vol. 27 No. 4-VA, November 2007, Southern Historical News, Inc.

The first official court was not held until 1778 when the courthouse was on the land of Henry Barksdale at Edgewood near Barksdale Ford or Smith River, just south of Stanleytown, and it remained there until 1792.
In 1792 the county seat was moved to Martinsville, which had been established by an act of the General Assembly that was passed 07 December 1791 and took effect 01 January 1792. Martinsville was still a small village then.
It was incorporated in 1873 as a town with a population of 300.
By 1900 the population in Martinsville was over 2,500.

The original wood-framed Henry County Courthouse was built in 1792 on a 49 acre tract deeded on 26 September 1791 by George Hairston. Up until that time the county's governmental operations were located near Edgewood in the Stanleytown area. It was destroyed by fire and by 1824 the newer two-story brick courthouse was constructed and occupied on the town square in Martinsville.
The cannons on the Henry County Courthouse grounds figured in the Revolutionary War and later became coast defense guards in the War Between the States. They were donated by the War Department to the Mildred Lee Chapter of the UDC (United Daughters of the Confederacy). Mildred Lee was the daughter of General Robert E. Lee.
The cannons were shipped by rail from Fort McHenry, Maryland and arrived at the Martinsville station during a rainy season. Horses were unable to pull the cannons from the station up Broad Street to the Courthouse Square. A circus was in town at the time, and elephants were used to pull the heavy load to its destination.

The newest Henry County Courthouse is located on Kings Mountain Road in Henry County. Do you know when it was built?

Forts in Henry County

In March 1756 at the time of the French and Indian Wars, the General Assumbly ordered a chain of protective frontier forts to be built as protection against raiding parties of hostile Indians, mostly Shawnee from the Ohio area, with a few Cherokee from eastern Tennessee.
There were three forts built in the Henry County area:
1. Fort Mayo, a palisade erected around the home of John Frederick Miller on N. Mayo River near the County Line Road
2. Hickey's Fort, a blockhouse or fortified dwelling located near Blackberry Creek
3. Fort Trial, a "designed" fort near the confluence of Smith River and Reed Creek.

Indian History

Located behind the shopping center at the junction of Route 220 and Rives Road Extension, an Indian Fish Dam is seen in the Smith River. It is the area's oldest known man-made structure.
The dam, dating from about 1330 A.D., is an arrangement of rocks in a V-shape across the river bed. After fitting a basket or net over the mouth of the V, Indians would wade through the water, chasing fish against the dam and into the container.
R. P. Gravely, Jr. discovered the dam, and the property owners deeded it to the Patrick Henry Chapter of the Archaelogical Society of Virginia. It is listed on noth the national and state historical landmarks registries.
Source: The Historical News, Vol. 27 No. 4-VA, Nov 2007

WWII

First Baptist Victory News
First Baptist Church, Martinsville, VA
Volume 1
October 1943
News From Your Church To You Men In Service
Dear Boys:
The talk of our Church and City is how much we miss you. We think of you every day, and appreciate the fine work you are doing for your Country, and the World. I believe that the present War will mean much in the development of nations for all time to come. I also feel that every one engaged in our Armed Forces is to be congratulated. You have our Daily Prayers and Best Wishes. We do trust that this War will soon be over, and you can be home with us.
Sincerely Yours,
J. P. McCabe

OUR MEN IN SERVICE from First Baptist Church
Preston Adams
G. W. Allsion, Jr.
Aaron Angle
Jimmy Ansell
Melvin Harrison Ashby
Cpl. G. F. Allison
Cpl. J. Amon Brodie
Tom Burnette
Dick Broaddus
Sgt. Earnest R. Bayne
William Beeler
E. James Barbour, Jr
Chester Bowling
Clarence Covington
James Cox
Rorer Clift
Woodrow E. Carter
Pvt. Robert L. Carter
Sgt. Leonard L. Coleman
PFC John E. Campbell
J. W. Chambers, BM2
Camden Bryant
S/Sgt. Everett J. Davis
Pvt. Frank M. Draper
Capt. T. Spencer Dallas
Cpl. Robert L. Draper
Dick Davis
Lewis Dodson
Roy Dodson
Clyde England
Cpl. Jesse Eddy
Raymond Ferrell
Richard Fulcher
Randolph R. Gilley
Lt. John L. Goode
PFC Joseph W. Gregory
Floyd Gassaway
Harvey Gwynn
Pvt. Frank M. Hensley
Pvt. William W. Hensley
Carl Hedgecock
Earl Hatcher
J. C. Hatcher
Burton E. Hawkins
Lt. Sam Hedgecock
Ralph Hedgecock
A/ C R. A. Henderson
Frank L. Hodges
Pvt. William B. Harris
Lt. W. P. Hodnett, Jr.
Chaplain Chevis Horne
S/Sgt. Roger Hodnett
Sgt. Roy K. Hodnett
Billy Herman, Jr.
Edwin Hill
Bradford Hill
Pvt. Robert W. Hensley
Lt. Joseph H. Hensley
Cpl. John Hodges, Jr.
Sgt. James L. Hodges
David Hurd
Raymond Hurd
S/Sgt. E. Johnson
PFC Leonard J. Isley
Johnson Ingram
Lt. C. R. Joyce
Lt. Leroy Jarvis
Pvt. Quinton Kirk
Lt. Clarence Kearfott
W. R. Jorden
W. L. Joyce, Jr.
Harry Knight
Ralph Lester
James Lipford S1/c
E. M. Land MM2/c
Sgt. Glenwood Lawing
Burton Lester
Pvt. Thomas L. Lemons
A/C H. C. Lester, Jr.
Pvt. Joe S. McFaddin
Lewis McMillon
B. F. Martin QM 1/c
Cpl. David Morse
Pvt. James E. Minter
Sgt. Henry J. Meade, Jr.
Ensign S. L. Mitchell, Jr.
Lt. Herman C. Mitchell
Thomas Morrison
Pvt. Robert C. Martin
Robert Moore
Howard Minter
Cpl. Samuel W. Nelson
Sgt. Fred W. Newman
Lt. Dewey L. Newman
Claude Newman
PFC William F. Owen, Jr.
Pvt. C. M. O'Neill
Earnest Oakley, Jr.
Lt. Charles C. Powell
Glenn Powell
Irvin Parker
Clyde Peters
Lynwood Pinkard
Gradon Powers
Clyde Richardson
Lt. Robert Richardson
Major J. R. Richardson
Harry Richardson
Capt. Charles V. Rodgers
Pvt. William B. Ramsey
Sgt. W. H. Reavis
Guy Ross
James Rimmer
Booker Ramsey
Cpl. Robert H. Stultz
PFC C. M. Stanfford
Pvt. Rudolph Steagall
Pvt. Morton H. Stultz
Pvt. C. K. Sparrow
Lt. John B. Sparrow
Cpl. C. W. Starkey
John Stultz
Ben Stultz
Elmer Stultz
Sgt. Tom S. Stultz
Raymond W. Strait
John R. Strait
Sgt. James Stokes
Sgt. George Stone
Reed Stone F.1/c
Bruce Spencer
Edwin Stone
Henry Strickland
E. H. Turner, Jr.
Mids. J. W. Townes, Jr.
Pvt. R. M. Thomason
Sgt. H. A. Thorne
Lt. Carrol Thomason
Lewis Thomason
Robert Turner
William Turner
Pvt. W. E. Wickline
M/S Earl Wagner
Lt. R. B. Willliams
A. F. Warren
Charles Weaver
Raymond Thorne
Fletcher Wells
Floyd Yarbourgh
A. B. Via
Leon Newman
William Simmons
Robert Meredith
Thomas Heath
Lt. Bill Burge, Jr. * Supreme Sacrifice
Pvt. Buren Ingram * Supreme Sacrifice
Lt. J. Jarett Boyce
Lewis Burge
Fred Chaffin
Aldin Cowen
Capt. Booker Carter
LT. JG William F. Carter
Jessie E. Clarke
John R. Campbell
Ishmel Cook
James Compton
Martin Collie
William B. Davis
Bobby Davis
Boxley Davis
Capt. Harry Doss
E. E. Davis
L. Fisher, Jr.
Howell Forester
John Franklin
John Frank
Lester Foley
Woodsie Gardner
D. D. Gregory
Edward Harris
Glenn Hardee
Graham Holifield
Guy Holifield
Marvin Hill
Troy Holdren
Charlie Hundley
Frances Irving
Frank Jarrett
W. R. Jorden
Howard Casey
Alfred Kipps
Tommy Lack
Harry Lovell
C. H. Lovell
Harold Myers
Sgt. Fred Minter
Raymond Pinkard
W. O. Poindexter
Edwin Page
Noel Smith
Earl Simpson
L. R. Rodgers, Jr.
Guy Spencer
W. M. Shaw
Capt. John Trent
Melvin Wells
Dudley Wells
Harold Wells
Lynwood Weaver
Charles Weaver
Roy Warren
James Warren
Rieves Warren
Frank Warren, Jr.
Fletcher Yarbourgh
Irving Yarbourgh
James Yarbourgh
Milton Zandiotis

We regret that we could not secure the rank of all our men.

Water

A letter from the Henry County Public Service Authority states that "Route 58 East Water Supply Has Levels of Disinfection Byproducts Above Drinking Water Standards"....among other things, it states that "Tests indicate the Henry County Public Service Authority's Route 58 East water system exceeded a drinking water standard. Although this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have the right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct this situation. You do not need to use an alternative water supply. However, if you have specific health concerns, consult your Doctor. This is not an immediate health risk. However, some people who drink water containing total trihalomethanes in excess of the PMCL over many years may have an increased risk of cancer and may experience problems with liver, kidneys, or central nervous system."

Marine Cpl. Jonathan Bowling

Martinsville Bulletin
Thursday, January 27, 2005
A Martinsville police officer was killed early Wednesday after his convoy in Iraq was hit by a rocket grenade.
Lance Cpl. Jonathan Williams Bowling, 23, of Patrick County, a Marine reservist assigned to Company C, 4th Marine Division in Lynchburg, was one of four Marines killed in the ambush.

Pfc. Rush "Mickie" Jenkins

Fallen Soldier Comes Home
Martinsville Bulletin, Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Page 1-A
The body of Pfc. Rush "Mickey" Jenkins, 22, who was killed Oct. 30 in Salman Pak, Iraq, came home Monday. Jenkins was killed when enemy forces engaged his unit with small arms fire and an iprovised explosive device (IED), according to the Department of Defense.
Page 6-A
The funeral for Spc. Rush "Mickey" Marshall Jenkins, 22, of Martinsville, who died Oct. 30, 2007 in Iraq, after being wounded while serving with the 3rd Infantry Division of the Army, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in the South Chapel of Bassett Funeral Service. Burial will be in Roselawn Burial Park with military honors.

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