Sweet Briar History

Not sure what to do after Halloween? Take a Chung-Mungs Ghost...

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 08:51:24 -0400

Not sure what to do after Halloween? Take a Chung-Mungs Ghost tour. Offered Nov 1 and 2 (5:30 to 7:00 pm at the Sweet Briar Museum), the Chung Mungs and Tau Phi will be reading ghost stories written by Sweet Briar students long-ago. Questions? Contact Dr. Lawson (klawson - at - sbc - dot - edu).

Joseph McGill (program officer, National Trust Historic Places...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 17:50:02 -0400

Joseph McGill (program officer, National Trust Historic Places and director of the Slave Dwelling Project) comes to Sweet Briar College to spend the night in the on-campus slave cabin. Visit the Tusculum Institute Facebook page for photos and excerpts from his stay: http://www.facebook.com/TusculumInstitute

In honor of Reading Days….a photo of the Reading Room from...

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:02:56 -0400

In honor of Reading Days….a photo of the Reading Room from 1939.

A picture of the Indoor Riding Ring from 1939.

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:43:00 -0400

A picture of the Indoor Riding Ring from 1939.

Samantha Embrey (Nelson Co. resident and granddaughter of one of...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:19:00 -0400

Samantha Embrey (Nelson Co. resident and granddaughter of one of the students in SBC’s first class, Nellie Dearborn, whose sister Marion was also an ‘06, that’s 1906) sent in the photo above. The photo shows the old Sweet Briar railroad station (located on the opposite side of today’s US 29). The horse drawn carriages shown in the background ferried students from the station to campus (a mile+ ride). The structures in the background may be Mt. San Angelo (today’s VCCA).

This example of Cleome is located behind the President’s...

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 20:41:00 -0400

This example of Cleome is located behind the President’s House. A member of the Capparaceae family, its genus is Cleome, but its colloquial name is the “spider flower.” It grows over 3 feet tall, and as high as 6 feet. Groundskeeper Donna Meeks planted the flowers, in part, because Daisy mentioned them in her diary.

The 2012 Learning on the Land “Cemeteries and Ruins”...

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 16:15:16 -0400

The 2012 Learning on the Land “Cemeteries and Ruins” class hits the pavement and tries to locate architectural elements on campus buildings from “pictionary-esque” drawings.

President Monroe joins the fourth annual Teaching with Historic...

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:25:08 -0400

President Monroe joins the fourth annual Teaching with Historic Places Workshop (sponsored by the Tusculum Institute and the Virginia DHR) to discuss the War of 1812. Here he contemplates the impression (drafting) of American seamen in the yard of his home, Ash-Lawn Highland.

For the 26th year Sweet Briar hosted its annual Arts Day, when...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:12:54 -0400

For the 26th year Sweet Briar hosted its annual Arts Day, when over 300 Amherst County 5th graders visit campus to sample workshops across campus. One of these offerings was a tour of the cabin behind the former Sweet Briar Plantation House (today the home of the Sweet Briar College President). During the antebellum period, enslaved individuals lived in the cabin, and after the college was founded it was used variously as a home, chapel, classroom, and even the Sweet Briar alumni office. In the photo above, students from Amherst Elementary School tour the cabin with Dr. Rainville (director, Tusculum Institute).

Professor Cathy Gutierrez’s spring class, Religions of...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:02:45 -0400

Professor Cathy Gutierrez’s spring class, Religions of Africa, curated an exhibit titled “Modern Reflections on African Society.” On display through May 1 in the Babcock Lobby it provides fascinating insights into African masks and local poetry. The masks were crafted by the Dogon (in Mali), the Lwalwa people (in the Congo), and the Dan (in Liberia). Evocative poems by notable local poetess, Anne Spencer (1882-1975) are accompanied by striking photos of the Old City Cemetery (taken by Sally Toms ‘13). To learn more about Ms Spencer, click here.

The Sweet Briar curriculum is always challenging and innovative....

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:33:00 -0400

The Sweet Briar curriculum is always challenging and innovative. A perfect example is Prof. Hamilton’s “The Land as Art,” Art History class. This spring they envisioned and planned a project on the Sweet Briar landscape: the construction of a serpentine mound. The photo above illustrates the work in progress (courtesy of one of the class blogs written by Maddie Hodges ‘13). Click on the post to visit her blog and see more photographs of the mound.

Spring has sprung on campus. Here is an historic view of some of...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:29:39 -0400

Spring has sprung on campus. Here is an historic view of some of our lovely trees. The undated (but probably first quarter of the 20th century) postcard view on the left is titled “Elm Street.” The photograph on the right illustrates the same view today. We’ve lost most (all?) of our Elm trees but our tree canopy is still thriving.

Hi! Could you give me any advice about where to find information about the dairy? Thank you!

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:59:47 -0400

There is no one source. It’s mentioned in several SBC Alumnae Magazines (with photos). Jan Osinga, the former dairy manager, wrote a book where he organized his recollections of the Dairy. The bookstore should have a copy of it. I think it’s called “My Story” or “The Best Years of My Life.”

After I shared the photograph [posted April 10, 2012] with Mr....

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:44:42 -0400

The same view of the flagpole.

The flag is gone, the base remains.

After I shared the photograph [posted April 10, 2012] with Mr. Jones’ granddaughter, Crystal, she made a pilgrimage to campus to locate the flagpole. Unfortunately, the pole is long gone, but with persistence she located the former site of the pole. Both photographs were contributed by Crystal Franklin Rosson.

A photograph recently uncovered by Sweet Briar Librarian Liz...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:35:36 -0400

A photograph recently uncovered by Sweet Briar Librarian Liz Kent. It shows Sterling Jones raising the flag in front of the Cochran Library. Retired librarian Shirley Reid remembers Mr. Jones raising the flag every day and sometimes going into the library to get her to remove metal splinters from his hand that came from the flag cable. Mr. Jones died in 1959. Photograph courtesy of the Sweet Briar College Library Archives.

Do you have any resources about the Sweet Briar orchard?

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:03:19 -0400

I don’t have any published articles or references on hand. But if you read through Elijah Fletcher’s letter (edited into a volume, available in the library) you can read about the 19thC orchards. By the 1950s the College had phased out all of the orchards.

This weekend JMU is hosting the annual Virginia Forum (founded...

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 09:16:00 -0400

This weekend JMU is hosting the annual Virginia Forum (founded in 2006). The program contains a fascinating group of papers about the Old Dominion. Dr. Rainville (Director, Tusculum Institute), presented a paper on tracing the descendants of enslaved African Americans. For more information on that project: www.centralvirginiahistory.org. To view photographs from the 2012 Virginia Forum conference, visit the Tusculum Institute’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TusculumInstitute. The drawing above was done by Alice Canon as part of her research into enslaved individuals at Bleak House (Albemarle County).

In 2012 the Tusculum Institute will be researching the history...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 13:36:37 -0400

In 2012 the Tusculum Institute will be researching the history of the on-campus slave cabin. Research is on-going into the antebellum, enslaved residents.In the 20th-century Sterling Jones and his family were the last residents of the cabin (in 1926). This photograph shows Sterling Jones, Sr. (1875-1959) and his wife, Aurelia Tyler (1896-1990), along with several of their children: four of their daughters and one son, Fletcher.

With sadness…..Jan Osinga (who passed away February 28,...

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:42:59 -0500

With sadness…..Jan Osinga (who passed away February 28, 2012). He was the Sweet Briar Farm Manager from 1965-1990 and the Dairy Plant Manager from 1991-1995. The photo above is from a 1976 Sweet Briar Yearbook.

A recent photo (Feb. 23, 2012) of a stone in the Sweet Briar...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:32:51 -0500

A recent photo (Feb. 23, 2012) of a stone in the Sweet Briar Cemetery during a class visit. See more photos of the Sweet Briar Slave Cemetery by visiting the Tusculum Institute’s Facebook Page.