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“Four days later, using dynamite, railroad company work crews were able to... reopen the rail line to Clifton Forge. An estimated 200 tons of rock had crashed down on the site, covering sixty to seventy- five yards of track.”
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4 Buffalo Bill Comes to Lynchburg by Roger G. Garfield. The behind-the- scenes operation of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West was as engaging as the show itself. The Lynchburg “fairgrounds were open to the public during the set-up, free of charge, and...crowds came just to see the large-scale logistics and exotic performers and animals.” At the peak of its popularity, thousands of visitors turned out for the event, arriving via standing-room-only special excursion trains from Danville and Clifton Forge. Vacant downtown stores were turned into temporary restaurants, and cowboys paraded down Main Street.
20 Looking Ahead to 2036... Seven Facts of Local Black History Every Lynchburger Should Know by Ted Delaney. Inspired by a “Fifty Fabulous Facts” brochure produced during Lynchburg’s 1986 bicentennial celebration, Ted Delaney has set out to update and expand the list to include more local black history. His efforts to date are, in keeping with the original alliteration, first-rate and fantastic. This memo to future historians offers a glimpse at the research that has taken place during the past twenty-seven years.
28 “Overwhelmed by Rock Avalanche”: Tragedy on the C&O Railroad by Douglas MacLeod. Working from newspaper accounts of the tragedy and eyewitness testimonies from the court cases that followed, MacLeod tells the rockslide story as it unfolded, in a style that echoes the dramatic journalism of the day: “...the watchman saw the engine headlight coming around a sharp, eleven-degree curve below a series of cliffs called ‘the bluff.’ Using his lantern he waved a signal to stop. The train stopped all right, but there was something wrong.”
34 Journey to the Land of Lynches by Peter W. Houck. A fiftieth wedding anniversary trip to Ireland turned into a research expedition when Peter and Betsy Houck reached Galway. Once home to the father of Lynchburg’s founder, the
city claims to be the place where the term “Lynch Law” originated. “The account displayed at Lynch’s castle” writes Houck, “is fascinating not only for its antiquity, but also for its resemblance to a Greek tragedy replete with romance and murder.”
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3 From the Editor 40 History in Brief
FRONT COVER: Buffalo Bill parades down Twelfth Street past Court Street. The buildings in the background stood where the downtown post office and its parking lot are today.
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Photo by Dan Floyd courtesy of Garland Harper.
SPRING/SUMMER 2013 Official Publication of the Lynchburg Historical Foundation
PUBLISHER
Nancy Blackwell Marion
EDITOR
Mary M. Abrams
DESIGN
The Design Group
EDITORIAL BOARD Lamar Cecil
S. Allen Chambers John d’Entremont Peter Houck
Thomas Ledford Marilyn Martin Scott Smith William Young
Lynch’s Ferry (ISSN 1949-2146) is published twice a year by Blackwell Press
311 Rivermont Avenue Lynchburg, VA 24504
Telephone (434) 847-0939
Subscription orders and notice of change of address should be sent to the above address. Subscription rate is $10.00 per year (2 issues) or $18.00 for two years (4 issues) paid in advance.
Copyright 2013 by Blackwell Press All rights reserved
Lynch’s Ferry is for sale at the following locations: Bookshop on the Avenue, Givens Books, Inklings Bookshop, Lynchburg Visitors Center, Old City Cemetery, Point of Honor, Market on Main, and Lynch’s Ferry’s office at The Design Group.