Your connection to the past and the building blocks of our community’s future …
NEWS
NEWS
Each day, the MHC Historical Society brings you something new: an account of what happened that day in time 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago, and as a bonus, also 1960.
Both the Martinsville Tribune and the Martinsville Bulletin described the incidences which integrated the city’s lunch counters at Eagle’s and Woolworth’s variety stores and Fagg’s and Wampler’s drug stores as peaceful and pre-planned.
Set-up has begun!
Construction has been completed (pending just a few details here and there) and now display cases are being set up in the annex. Jack Stewart is the coordinator. The top floor will have 12 cases in the middle, and custom cases will be built along the walls. Once the top floor is done, the next floor will be started.
The antiques and new part of the museum are generously donated by Dr. and Mrs. Mervyn and Virginia King. It is the privilege and the responsibility of the MHC Historical Society to operate that museum and ensure its success. The Historical Society adds deeper levels of membership to reflect the benefits of the expanded and to help support it.
MHC Heritage Museum
1 East Main Street (former Henry County courthouse); open from 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays with a docent to provide tours; also usually staffed 9-5 weekdays with visitors welcome. Contact 276-403-5361 or mhchistoricalsociety@gmail.com.
13,000-square-foot annex
The 13,000-square-foot annex behind the courthouse should be finished by June 2024. It will house Dr. Mervyn King’s significant collections of antique firearms, Native American artifacts, steam engines, Marklin and other toys, toy trains and more.
Facility
The courthouse was built in 1824, significantly expanded in 1929 and retired from county use in 1996, when the Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society was formed to preserve it. The stately structure is available for rent for weddings, meetings, reunions, shows and more.
Events
The MHC Historical Society offers free programs throughout the year. Coming up:
Annual Meeting & Distinguished Lecture: "Campus to Counter: Civil Rights Activism" Sunday, May 19
Sounds on the Square: Barefoot Modern Friday, June 7
History of Rock Castle Creek Sunday, June 16
Sounds on the Square: The League of Ordinary Gentlemen Friday, July 5
"History of Community Police Departments" Sunday, July 21
Sounds on the Square: Forrest Taylor Friday, August 2
The Other Side of Gen. William Jackson Palmer Sunday, August 18
Sounds on the Square: Ghosts of Liberty Friday, Sept. 6
“I know of no way of judging the future than by the past.”
— Patrick Henry (1736-1799); Founding Father, Virginia Governor and Henry County planter