1870

Folks are reading Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Society and Solitude, the Civil War ended five years ago with the last battle in nearby Waynesboro, VA. 

This home was constructed onsite using hand formed bricks made of clay from the property. Previously, this was work done by slaves – the 15th Amendment was ratified this same year and Confederate Virginians still don’t have the right to vote until 1872. During the Reconstruction Era and just prior to the Depression of 1873 there was great disagreement between a Republican Congress and Presidents Lincoln and Johnson in regards to how the rebuilding of the southern states should proceed. In 1866, all former Confederates were removed from power by a Republican dominated Congress and the beginning of decades of disenfranchisement began for millions of US citizens. 

We have not yet discovered who built the house, as this was a difficult time for all in this area and indeed our collective history. Mr. Jim Willis a local resident, who at 91, recalled that the house was a post office “for as long as he could remember and long, long before he was born” gave our research direction. Thank you sir. Jim passes away this last year, and is across the street with his wife and love Irene. I walk with my dog Choco and Cat Hops each day and chat with Jim (coffee cup in hand).