Mary Johnston

One of the next displays that intrigued me when we visited the History Museum of Western Virginia was a section on author Mary Johnston (1870-1936). Johnston grew up in Buchanan, one of Botetourt's three incorporated towns. She was a best-selling novelist at the turn of the 20th century, with To Have and To Hold probably her best-known work. She also wrote The Great Valley, which I read as a child, never knowing anything about the author. That book is about a woman who was kidnapped by Native Americans and then found her way back home. If that sounds familiar, it's a story that has been done and redone multiple times.

I have written several articles about Mary Johnston during my work as a news reporter. I was intrigued by her suffrage work. She was the first woman to ever address a meeting of the Virginia Legislature when it was in session.

She lived in Bath County, where she built a huge home there called Three Hills. I visited it about 30 years ago when I was thinking of writing a book about this author. However, I soon found out someone had already written one, so I didn't pursue it.