RADFORD – Glencoe Mansion, Museum, and Gallery offers regular Radford history lessons online, in addition to the in-person experience of visiting the museum.
Glencoe’s Facebook page is a wealth of stories from Radford’s past. Two recent posts focus on the Wharton family, one of the city’s founding families and the original inhabitants of Glencoe.
“The history of the Glencoe Mansion is the history of Radford, and to this day we are all still touched by the lives and connections that were forged by all the many people who called it home. Join us each week as we explore this history,” the museum’s page states.
The following are two of the recent postings:
Did everything go well for the Whartons? Certainly not! Life in the post-Civil War South was hard for everyone, including the landed gentry like the Radfords and Whartons. Gen. Wharton was a major advocate for industrial development in the region, but things did not always go to plan. Gen. Wharton was an honest and trusting individual, which did not always suit an industrializing world often filled with intrigue. Wharton also was a caring man who could not idly sit by while others suffered, and he was quick to help.
“Bottom line, the Whartons’ finances went south. Were they completely ruined? No. Don’t miss our next post to learn more.
“The history of the Glencoe Mansion is the history of Radford, and to this day we are all still touched by the lives and connections that were forged by all the many people who called it home. Join us each Tuesday as we explore this history.
“There is no doubt that the Whartons’ financial situation was dire. Gen. Wharton even had to return to engineering to make ends meet and pay off debts. In what most would have considered his golden years, his 60s, he was constantly on the move on the west coast surveying lands and opening up another region of the country for expansion.
“Who took care of business at home? Nannie Radford Wharton. Nannie was a born business person whose acumen and fierceness were not to be trifled with. Family letters indicate that individuals knowing that Gen. Wharton was away thought they could take advantage of the lady left by herself; however, they soon learned that was not the case. She got her family out of their financial disaster. Nannie Radford Wharton even went to court after standing her ground with a pistol.
To find out more about the Whartons and their story, come take a tour of the mansion, Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.