Germanna seeks

Germanna seeks

historical input

The Germanna Community College Office of Continuing Education invites the public to attend a reunion on Saturday, November 8, at 2 p.m. in Room 56 to share memories of what, where and who was there when!

Germanna Professor Robert Hodge, who is a member of the Germanna Consortium for Historic Preservation, Research and Cultural Studies, will lead the discussion. Professor Hodge is collecting historical data about the area, and he feels that there are people in the college’s neighboring communities who can provide information about where earlier settlers had houses and where the road across the Rapidan River was located previously.

Historians think that at one time there were probably as many as 50 houses on the land surrounding the college, as well as whole communities that existed in the area and have been destroyed over the years.

It is Professor Hodge’s hope that by inviting the public to come to the college for a discussion regarding the rich cultural and historical data surrounding the Germanna Ford area, new facts and findings may come to light. Any new findings will be transferred to a map so that when construction or excavation is being done on the land surrounding the college, relics of old buildings, graves, etc. won’t be destroyed and history will be preserved.

Areas and topics to be discussed on November 8 include the horseshoe bend in the Rapidan River at Germanna Ford, the Enchanted Castle Ruins of Governor Spotswood, the old home site of the Gordon family, the old home site of the Harris family, the Foundation Spring dedicated in 1931, a Boy Scout campsite (with cabin) located somewhere in the area, and the Gordon-DuVal cemetery.

For further information, individuals may call the Office of Continuing Education at Germanna at 3991333, extension 201.

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