Floyd Woodruff Tucker, Jr. enlisted in the army at the age of 16. He returned to Ashland to begin a career of community service and leadership. In 1917 he was commissioned as Captain of the Hanover Grays, a local National Guard unit. He began the first Boy Scout troop in the state of Virginia and served as scoutmaster of Troop # 1 for many years. Around 1917 Captain Tucker and John Wightman formed the Tucker-Wightman [...]
Edwin Robinson was President of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac (RF&P) in 1846 when he first realized the potential of the 462 acre property the railroad owned at the center of present day Ashland. The property had a mineral spring and was used as a refueling and lumber stop between Richmond and Fredericksburg. Beginning in the late 1840's, Robinson convinced the railroad's directors to develop a resort which they named "Slash Cottage", recognizing the popularity [...]
Born in Emporia, Virginia and educated at Virginia Union University, Eunice Bundy received her Master of Arts from Columbia University in New York City. She came to Hanover County in 1930 as a combined elementary and high school teacher at the Hanover Training School. She was appointed principal in 1936, and remained principal when the school was renamed John M. Gandy School. Her steady leadership helped Ashland and Hanover's African-American community through the difficult years [...]
As President of Randolph-Macon College from 1939 to 1967, Dr. Moreland is credited with building the enrollment, reputation, physical plant, and financial stability of the school. The Moreland era witnessed a tremendous expansion of the college, with almost every campus building east of Henry Street constructed during his tenure, including Fox Hall (1951), Smithey Hall (1952), Blackwell Auditorium (1953), Page Library (1961), Haley Hall (1965), Crenshaw Gymnasium (1965) and Moreland Dormitory (1967). The Moreland era [...]
The Hall of Fame recognized 20 people posthumously who have made significant contributions to Ashland, the state and the nation. These 20 individuals were unveiled during Ashland’s 150th Birthday Grand Celebration on October 18, 2008. C. Hunter Jones 1918-2001 Dr. Robert Emory Blackwell 1854-1938 Dr. J. Earl Moreland 1897-1987 Edwin Robinson 1807-1863 Eunice Daniel Bundy Floyd W. Tucker 1888-1954 Harry V. Smeeman 1890-1929 Henry Clay 1777-1852 Hill Carter 1846-1918 Hugh Stephens Jay Pace 1945-2004 James Napoleon Luck [...]
As a thirteen-year-old, Robert Blackwell came to Ashland on a railroad handcar to begin his education, and his seventy year association with Randolph-Macon College. In 1876, he became Randolph-Macon's English professor. In 1902, the trustees of the college appointed him president, an office that he held until his death in 1938. He was a proper, kind gentleman whose personal philosophy of dignity of all people influenced generations of Randolph-Macon students and Ashlanders.
C. Hunter Jones, a native Ashlander, gave generously of his time and talents to improve the lives of others. He served on the Ashland Town Council for 11 terms (22 years), including terms as Mayor and Vice-Mayor. As PTA President, he was a proponent of adding a 12th grade and consolidating high schools to improve education for all students in Hanover County. He was a founder and the first president of Hanover Country Club and [...]
In 1903 the telephone came to Ashland. Julia Weisiger was the manager of the telephone exchange from that time until she retired 35 years later when the C&P Telephone Company installed a new automatic dialing system. Under the old manual system, Julia served as the day operator, and one of Dr. Daniel S. Ellis' sons served as night operator. Residents cranked their phone to ring Miss Julia and would give her the name of the [...]
Ruth Blakey was the daughter of Charles Gunnell Blakey and Laura Virginia "Jennie" Rice. In 1890, The Blakeys built the house at 805 South Railroad Avenue beside the Rice home and raised their two children, William and Ruth. Below are two photos of Ruth as a child. Ruth Blakey with her dolls and doll carriage in front of 805 S. Center St, circa 1896. Ruth Blakey on her tricycle, circa 1987.
The 1860s Census is rich in detail, compared to the previous ones. We get a picture of the kinds of people living in Ashland. There were twenty-two households and 148 people in the St. Paul’s Parish District. Of those households and the probable Ashland households in the Upper Revenue District, there were 18 carpenters, 6 of them master carpenters; 14 laborers, including 8 Irishmen living at the hotel; 10 farmers; 6 merchants or clerks, including [...]
1943 Ashland High School Football Team. Front row, from left, Ray Harlow, Chastine Mallory and Clifford White. Second row, from left, Archie "Joe Justice" Cannon, Jimmy Pollard, Billy Buchanan, Tom Mills, James Meharg. Back row, from left, Argyle Haley, Hill "Twig" Mallory, Edwin Bailey, Will Campbell, Jimmy "Punch" Taylor, coach Taylor Sanford, Sonny "P.K." Perrin, manager Vernon Bruce and Leitch Wright.
Secretariat, “America’s super horse” has taken the country by storm again with the recent inspiring true story movie and book. Secretariat was born at the Meadow in nearby Caroline County owned by Christopher T. Chenery. Chris, born Sept. 16, 1886, was the son of Ida and Jimmy Chenery and grew up as a boy in Ashland. They lived at 402 Duncan Street at the corner of Race Course Street, near the site of a former [...]
The One Ashland, Many Voices Oral History Project web site at the McGraw-Page Library, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA has audio interviews captured in 2008 with over 50 Ashland residents. Transcripts are also available for many interviews. The Living Legacies and Macon Memories Oral History Projects web sites, also at the McGraw-Page Library, host audio interviews with Randolph-Macon alumni and faculty. Photos and transcripts are available for some interviews.
After graduating from the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) School of Pharmacy, James Goodrich (J.G.) Hughes moved to Ashland from Cumberland County, VA. He opened Hughes Drug and married Nannie B. Luckett in 1889. Pharmacists of this era mixed chemicals and natural products by hand to make drugs in liquid or pill form often containing alcohol, morphine, cocaine or opium. He also sold perfumes, stationery, college books, kerosene lamps and fine toiletries, and many other [...]
Louise Jones and her sister, Dorothy, were the original "Liberty Ladies" of Ashland. They made special appearances at the 4th of July parades and the Ashland Musical Variety Shows. Their nieces, Sarah Byrne and Sandra Lynne, took over their roles as "Liberty Ladies" to continue the tradition.