Gee, and here I thought I knew a little about Lynchburg
history. I even wrote a book on the subject once.
But after looking at a Web site recently created by Kipp Teague and
Owen Grubbs, I realized that my scholarship was woefully lacking. How
could I have left out Zebulon Miller's Tomb or the abandoned ICBM silo on
Tobacco Row Mountain or Porter G. Dabney's "Electric Cross"? How could I
have not known about Robert E. Lee's "other horse," Phantom, or Thomas
Jefferson's "Home Away From Home Away From Home."
"It's understandable," said Teague, a computer specialist at Lynchburg
College and godfather of a half-dozen historical and special-interest
"Retro Web" sites. "These are things that, for whatever reason, just got
passed over by historians."
When you think about it, though, it only makes sense that Thomas
Jefferson would use Poplar Forest as a clever decoy.
"Seeking escape," the text accompanying the photo of a tiny, faded
frame house on the "Little-Known Attractions of Lynchburg & Central
Virginia" site explains, "Jefferson first built Poplar Forest, an
architectural gem in its own right, as a summer retreat in Forest, Va.
But, a hoard of well-wishers soon followed. As a final attempt to find
solitude, Jefferson secretly built Chestnut Grove, this modest,
non-descript frame house in Lynchburg, and with the desired results. It
wasn't until many years and three owners later that neighbors learned the
real identities of the reclusive couple they knew simply as ‘Mr. Tom' and
‘Miss Sally.'"
Of course, all historically minded Lynchburgers are aware of the parade
of famous people who have wandered through our town since its founding in
1786 - Andrew Jackson, John Wilkes Booth, Frank James, Houdini, Oliver
North.
I knew about them, too, but if it hadn't been for the Teague/Grubbs Web
site, I would never have known about Elvis Presley.
"It wasn't the sort of ‘performance' that his fans would consider
memorable," reads the text, "but Elvis Presley did once leave his mark in
Central Virginia. It happened in August of 1976, when his band's plane was
headed to Roanoke for a concert but got diverted to Lynchburg. On the way
out of town, the band stopped briefly at a small Timberlake Road diner
known as the "Koffee Pot." The band stopped not to eat, but for Elvis to
use the bathroom. He was in a great hurry to make his Roanoke show, but he
took the time to autograph one of the toilet paper rolls."
And there's a photograph of that roll, under glass, with Elvis'
autograph plainly visible. Amazing.
I'd never heard about that, just as I had no idea that the Doughboy
statue at the base of Monument Terrace had once been stolen by a deranged
Frenchman.
I asked Teague and Grubbs what sort of reaction they've received
locally to their site, which became operational at the end of May.
"People have started asking about attractions at the downtown visitor's
center, which is very gratifying," said Teague.
"We've probably gotten the most comments about the Rotational Tuning
Facility," said Grubbs, who works for a computer company when he's not
making history. "People are just amazed that this sort of thing can be
done."
As was I. According to the description, "Lynchburg is home to an
unusual scientific facility, a ‘rotational tuning' station, part of a
global network of twenty-four such stations operated jointly by NASA and
the U.S. Geological Survey. Each station houses three powerful F-5 rocket
engines which are fired in tandem with those at all stations around the
globe when it becomes necessary to make miniscule corrections in the
Earth's rotational speed (angular velocity). Another correction is
scheduled for May 2002. Rotational Tuning Facility #9 is just south of
River Ridge mall in Lynchburg. However, the facility within is a
government restricted area and visitors are not allowed."
I've known people here who thought Lynchburg made the world go around.
Turns out they were right.
And who knew that Mark Twain's classic "Huckleberry Finn" was actually
a plagarization of a Lynchburg novelist's work, Horace J. Boggs'
1,142-page opus "The Tragedy of Strawberry O'Finley"? Boggs sued Twain,
but a Lynchburg judge called the suit "unfortunate and frivolous" and
dismissed it.
Not all of the information on the site
(www.retroweb.com/lynchburg/attractions) is ancient history, though.
According to Teague, a fun-loving group of "mulleted naturists" is
enjoying the piney woods of Appomattox County even as you read this.
Besides nudity, camp visitors must sport a mullet-style haircut.
"Once each year in August," the Web site says, "the Pinehurst group
stages a ‘Mulleted Naturist's Pride Walk' through the Town of Appomattox."
How could the Appomattox Chamber of Commerce not have told me about
that years ago?
I know - some of this is a little hard to believe. I'd suggest you
visit the Web site and decide for yourself.
You see, Teague and Grubbs have photographic proof. And photos, as we
all know, never lie.
The one of the rhino on the Amherst farm will amaze
you.