Entering Glencoe Museum off Radford’s Main Street is a genuine step back in time.
It is a time when red satin settees, fancy pianos, huge fireplaces and life-sized dress forms were the norm – especially for families of great means. The home of former Confederate Brigadier General Gabriel Wharton and his wife, Nannie Radford Wharton, showcased the rich Victorian style of the late 1800s. He owned a grist mill and championed the development of the town of Radford.
Their home, a museum for many years, recently celebrated its 150th anniversary and was one of the sites of the Mary Draper Ingles Festival, held this past weekend in the City of Radford and Pulaski County. At Glencoe, this included photographers and artists on hand, house tours and music, as well as a talk on creating family history books by Blacksburg author Madeline Hoge. The museum displayed antique furniture, information on the problems freed slaves faced, as well as photos of Radford from the unique time of the 1880s to the 1960s, a time the city grew.
But everyone wants to eventually get back home. That was the case for area resident Mary Draper Ingles, who was kidnapped by Shawnee tribesmen along with her two young sons and forced to ride to Big Bone Lick, a place she escaped from in order to return to her life in Virginia.
Eventually her older son was returned, but adjusted poorly to white, colonial living.
Mary Draper Ingles’ return to the region about 270 years ago was also commemorated with a special brochure and tours of the elegant home of her great grandson Captain William “Billy” Ingle on the appropriately named “Ingles” Street during the festival.
Few have tried to duplicate this harrowing journey back from present day Kentucky, following the Ohio, Kanawha and New Rivers, but one woman did. But with many helpers, including a Native American named John Arrasmith and a female descendant of Mary’s, Eleanor M. Lahr took the four-month trek along these rivers, with detours due to modern development. Her tale is told in the book “Angels Along the River,” because many people gave of their time and resources to make it happen. It has a foreword in it by James Alexander Thom, who wrote “Follow the River,” and is available in the downstairs Glencoe Mansion gift shop.
D.J. Mathews
