Newbern itself was established in 1810 as Hance’s planned town strategically located along the primary migration route west. An entrepreneur of his time, Hance recognized the economic benefits of developing a town along the road midway between the Virginia towns of Christiansburg and Evansham (now Wytheville).Laid out as 28 lots fronting on this wagon road, the town prospered, serving settlers moving into Kentucky, Ohio, and beyond. Because of its early significance, Newbern was placed in the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1979 as a unique remnant of our 19th century villages. Home to the Hance-Alexander family from 1810-1976, the Museum, which today is owned and operated by the New River Historical Society, exhibits artifacts and documents highlighting 19th-century life along the Wilderness Road.

Glencoe Museum – Radford

600 Unruh Drive
Radford, VA 24141
540.731.5031

www.glencoemuseum.org/

Glencoe gives visitors a fascinating look back at the Victorian way of life during the post-Civil War years. Built by Confederate Brigadier General Gabriel C. Wharton,the house and grounds provide an intimate view of life from another era.

Fine Arts Center – Pulaski

21 West Main Street
Pulaski, VA 24301
540.980.7363

Smithfield Plantation – Blacksburg

1000 Smithfield Plantation Road
Blacksburg, VA 24060
540.23.3947

www.smithfieldplantation.org/

William Preston was about 45 years old when he moved his family to Smithfield in March of 1774. He and his wife had seven children at that time,five more children were born at Smithfield. Colonel Preston began at once to make Smithfield a productive and profitable plantation. Colonel Preston had served as a member of the House of Burgesses and held the offices of County Lieutenant, Sheriff, and County Surveyor for Fincastle County Virginia. One of his greatest contributions was opening up the Kentucky lands for settlement by the colonists who were pushing westward. As troubles with England grew, Preston’s political responsibilities increased. He signed and possibly wrote the Fincastle Resolutions of 1775.
These resolutions expressed the signers’ sense of freedom, liberty, and popular sovereignty. In 1776, Montgomery County was formed from Fincastle County and the colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Colonel Preston was appointed County Lieutenant and had almost total authority over the new county’s affairs. During the Revolutionary War, the Preston family and other Patriot families were threatened by the Shawnees and the Cherokees, as well as the many Tories in the New River area. Colonel Preston lived to rejoice in the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in October 1781, but died two years later in June 1783 while attending a regimental muster. Susanna Smith Preston, Colonel Preston’s wife,was left the use and profits of all of her husband’s plantations, slaves, and stock if she remained single and supervised the rearing and education of their children, particularly their daughters. She lived at Smithfield for forty more years until her death in 1823. Smithfield continued to be the family seat for several generations afterward.
James Patton Preston, the first child born at Smithfield, inherited Smithfield. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates, fought in the War of 1812, and was Governor of Virginia from 1816-1819. He died in 1843 and Smithfield became the home of his son, William Ballard Preston. William Ballard Preston served in the Virginia General Assembly and in 1849 was appointed Secretary of the Navy under President Zachary Taylor. A college in Blacksburg, Preston and Olin Institute, was named for him. It was from this school that Virginia Tech evolved. William Ballard Preston was the last Preston to make Smithfield his home, but it would remain in the possession of the family for two more generations. In 1959, Janie Preston Boulware Lamb, great great granddaughter of Colonel William Preston, presented Smithfield to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities with the stipulation that the newly formed Montgomery County Branch of Preservation Virginia would restore, maintain, and open the house to the public. Smithfield was first opened to the public in 1964, and today is a living document of the past, a testimony to the bravery and devotion to country of the Prestons who made it their home.

www.theratcliffmuseum.com

The Raymond F. Ratcliffe Memorial Transportation Museum, or simply “The Ratcliffe”, features one of the most extraordinary O Gauge Model Train Displays in the country. Dr. Milton Brockmeyer, a local dentist, working with colleagues from the Model Railroad Club — especially Willie Ryan, artist and projectionist at the two local theaters, and C.P. Huff — created an 8O’ x 26′layout in the Brockmeyer basement. In 2O13, the Town of Pulaski expanded its Raymond F. Ratcliffe Memorial Museum, re-named the Raymond F. Ratcliffe Memorial Transportation Museum, to include expanded exhibits, including the O Gauge Display, historic fire engines, storyboards featuring the Town’s history, and artifacts helping to tell Pulaski’s story.
Raymond Ratcliff Transportation Museum – Pulaski
51 Commerce Street
Pulaski, VA 24301
540.980.2307