Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
BLACKSBURG- The Daughters of the American Revolution broke ground for a new interpretation building on the grounds of Historic Smithfield.
Daughters of the American Revolution Historic Smithfield Chair members, Preston family descendants and the community gathered together for the groundbreaking for a new interpretation building during Historic Smithfield’s 250th Commemoration. The interpretation building is being funded by the DAR and the Helen S. & Charles G. Patterson Foundation to help achieve the Smithfield mission of educating and informing the future with stories of the past.
The new interpretation building will provide a space to hold demonstrations of colonial-period accurate activities, crafts and other educational opportunities. The new structure will be accurate and appropriate for the colonial period to which Smithfield was built and has maintained generations later. This structure will provide space for the children’s summer camp programs where children will learn and experience the stories and history Smithfield has to offer its community.
The groundbreaking and dedication started with a speech from Executive Director Michael Hudson, thanking all who were involved and explaining how the structure will be used for generations to come. Legacy was a theme of the speeches from the dedication, including in the speech from Congressman Morgan Griffith and the DAR representatives. Four golden shovels were present and when it came to breaking the ground on the site, four important women rang in this new addition: Smithfield Preston Foundation Chair, Peggy Fanney, DAR Vice President General, LeAnn Turbyfill, Historic Smithfield 250th Anniversary Commemoration Chair, Laura Wedin, and Smithfield–Preston Foundation Board Member Emerita Joann Sutphin.
Education and legacy were at the root for Smithfield’s 250th Commemoration theme “From Deep Roots, Forging an Inclusive Future.”