‘Floyd County Remembered’: 2024 calendars on sale
Abby Whitt Editor
Floyd County Historical Society’s 2024 calendar is a little different from prior editions, featuring a theme alongside multiple photos each month.
Previous year’s calendars have had a wider theme, such as historical homes and property.
This year’s calendar is a condensed history of Floyd County, beginning with its official formation in 1831. The Town of Floyd was established in 1832 (originally called Jacksonville after President Andrew Jackson) and adopted its current name in 1895.
Buffalo Mountain’s history and facts — including that it is the third highest point in the state at 3,971 feet — is on the January 2024 page.
“The Buffalo and thousands of acres surrounding it were once the property of Revolutionary War hero “Lighthorse Harry” Lee and later the property of his three sons: Charles Carter Lee, Robert Edward Lee and Sidna Allen Lee,” the calendar says.
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Water and Bridges throughout the county are pictured on the February page, detailing Floyd’s waterways and precarious footbridges, and March highlights the musical history of Floyd County, mainly focusing on antique instruments.
Many of the instruments are on display at The Ridgemont, the historical society’s museum on north Locust Street.
Transportation throughout the years is the April page. One of the photos is Howard Stump, who ran the “Double Daily” carriage from south Locust Street to the Cambria Train Station, and another is Woodrow Truman’s 1954 D-500 Dodge.
May holds a collection of photos and facts from Along the Blue Ridge Parkway, including the shelter at The Saddle Overlook, which was originally on the Appalachian Trail before it was re-routed.
The history of the Floyd County Courthouse, which has always been located on the same property, is featured on the June page. Pictures from the early 1900s show what each of the three versions of the courthouse looked like inside and out.
Floyd County Stills fill the July page of the calendar, including pictures of stills being destroyed on the courthouse lawn and being confiscated by law enforcement as recently as 1983.
The particular copper still that was confiscated in 1983 and used during the Prohibition era is on display at the Historical Society’s Museum.
August is fittingly themed “School Life,” and the page features photos of the old Floyd High School (now Schoolhouse Fabrics), the first graduating class of Floyd County High School and Eva Claytor teaching at Harris Hart, Floyd’s historically Black school that is now used as the Floyd County Public School Board Office.
All types of farm life are documented on the September 2024 page, highlighting agriculture and livestock. One photo is of a crop duster landing in Floyd County and another is of the Floyd Dairy, which is now the Floyd Center for the Arts.
The history of the Postal service in Floyd County is the October page.
“Rural Free Delivery arrived in Floyd in 1902, initiating not only several new postal offices, but major road improvements as well,” the calendar says.
A mail buggy donated by John Dennis Harman is on display at The Ridgemont.
Military service men and women, and details about them, are featured in the month of November.
“Wilford Harless ‘Jim Buck’ Alderman was among four Floyd County soldiers who were killed while serving in Vietnam,” the calendar says.
Another photo is of Roscoe Merrill Starr, the first “boy from Floyd County to be killed in World War II.”
The calendar wraps up with Family Life showcased in December. Many of the household and personal items — lanterns, stoves, quilts, clothes, desks, wooden high chairs and more — can be found at The Ridgemont.
Other photos at the end of the 2024 calendar include one of Floyd Motor Co., Zion Lutheran Church’s 100th anniversary in 1913, Thad Palmer, a previously enslaved man, on Goodykoontz Farm, an ESSO Station at Farmer’s Supply in the early 1900s, Floyd Speedway and more.
Buy the 2024 Floyd County Historical Society calendar locally at The Ridgemont during open hours (217 N. Locust St., Fridays and Saturdays from noon until 4 p.m., April through December), Floyd Visitors Center, Slaughter’s Supermarket, Willis Village Mart, Blue Ridge Cafe, Harvest Moon and at G.J. Ingram’s. It can also be purchased on the Historical Society website.
Cost is $10, proceeds benefit the Floyd County Historical Society and its efforts.
Learn more about the nonprofit and how to support it at www.floydhistoricalsociety.org.
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