Virginia 250: Botetourt County in 1911

With Virginia and the nation celebrating 250 years of freedom from England in 2026, I thought it might be fun to occasionally bring up some local history.

Some years ago, a water leak in the Botetourt County Courthouse* led to a lucky find for genealogy researcher Loretta Caldwell.

While looking to see what papers may have received water damage, she came across almost a full year of the 1911 Buchanan News.

The paper was published from the early 1900s until 1973 in Buchanan. O. E. Obenshain is listed as editor on the 1911 copies. The Library of Virginia, which has microfilm of most of the issues, lists Obenshain as the publisher also.

Caldwell said the papers received minimal water damage. After drying them out, she placed them in a special cardboard holder.

The Botetourt County Library several years ago participated in a newspaper project and had several years of the Buchanan News and The Fincastle Herald placed on microfilm. That film is available for review in the Fincastle Library. However, the year 1911 is missing from those documents, so these fragile papers are not readily available on film.

The Fincastle Herald, which was established in 1866, was also in print at that time. Many old issues of the Herald are on microfilm, but others are lost to time.

Old newspapers can be a fascinating source for history of a community. The 1911 issues of the Buchanan News speak of a simpler time in many instances, but some of the events could have happened yesterday.

There are lists of who was invited where for dinner, school honor rolls and meetings. Virginia game laws said you could not kill a robin. A black bear was seen in Cloverdale. The entire state had only 4,514 prisoners behind bars.

A call went out for a new high school, with folks arguing in letters over the location (Buchanan or Lithia). 

A number of articles reflect the agriculture nature of the county. Eagle Rock apparently had a school of agriculture at that time. “Oregon Fruit Growers afraid of Virginia Growers,” touted one headline.

In September, a report called “The Automobile on the Farm” began, “One of the forces helping the “back to the land” movement and improvement of rural and economic conditions at this time is the automobile.”

In nearly every issue, there is a discussion of “good roads” and how to get them.

Other events of note:

• In January 1911, fire swept through the Town of Fincastle. It burned down an entire block, taking with it a drugstore, two groceries, a confectionary shop, a harness shop, a law office and the Town Hall. The fire started in the drugstore and the town had no fire department.

• In Buchanan that spring, Maude West, 19, was murdered by J. William Powell, 25, who then turned the gun on himself. “Little dreaming, or suspecting, the awful fate awaiting her, she innocently went to her doom!” the newspaper reported.

• In March, the federal government began its National Forest program. Botetourt County land was on the list. Much of northern Botetourt is still national forest today, part of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.

• Around the same time period, the Board of Supervisors set a tax levy at $1.10 per $100 value. According to the report, 41 cents out of each dollar went to the school system, while 45 cents out of each dollar went to a road fund. The remainder went toward other uses.

• And in October, Mary Johnston, by that time a famous author from Buchanan, spoke out in favor of women’s suffrage. She wanted the right to vote.

_______________

Originally published in The Fincastle Herald in 2008.

*Currently demolished with a new courthouse under construction in 2026.