Fluvanna Historical Society

06/11/2026

Do you have land that is connected to Fluvanna's history? We'd like to hear from you!

Archivists from Fluvanna Historical Society will hold two public availability sessions at Fluvanna County Public Library to help document any historic sites in Fluvanna that may be at risk from the Valley Link Transmission Line. Residents whose land may be connected to Fluvanna’s history are encouraged to stop by and share the details of their historic property. Archivists will help residents fill out a short questionnaire to identify historic properties and features of all types, including houses, commercial buildings, farms, family cemeteries, old roadbeds, mills, churches, schools, archaeological sites, or other places with local significance.

Wed. June 11 from 1-3pm and Wed. June 17 from 6-8pm at Fluvanna County Public Library at 214 Commons Blvd, Palmyra, VA 22963.

06/07/2026

One of Fluvanna’s amazing community historians - Nadine A. Greene Armstrong has done incredible research into the history of her community. Thank you, Nadine!

05/18/2026

The history of this post-Emancipation church is rich and important. Please support this effort if you can!

𝐖𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐥.

𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡, 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡.

Founded in 1881 by Black residents in the years after emancipation, Haden Chapel was built by people seeking a place to worship freely and build community through faith. Today, it remains deeply connected to descendant families, former attendees, and community members whose roots, memories, and ancestors are tied to this sacred place.

The church cemetery contains marked graves and likely unmarked graves of generations who helped shape this community. Family members, local supporters, and Ministers Kristel Harris and George Gorman are working together to preserve Haden Chapel’s history and reopen the church as an independent community church rooted in the Black church tradition and open to all.

We ask churches, clergy, organizations, historians, and community members to help preserve this important piece of Fluvanna County history by writing letters of support.

Please send letters to:
Pastor George Gorman [email protected]
AND
Minister Kristel Harris [email protected]

Historic places matter most when they remain connected to the communities that built them.

Thank you for your support!

05/15/2026

About the Valley Link Project:

Valley Link has an affirmative responsibility to consider historic and cultural resources when making routing and siting decisions for the proposed Joshua Falls–Yeat Transmission Line Project.
However, that consideration responsibility does not protect these special places, and Valley Link can only evaluate information it is made aware of.

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬.

Please contact the Fluvanna Historical Society if you need assistance with how to make your case to Valley Link. Contact us by email at [email protected] or by phone at 434-589-7910.

We want to hear from you. Leave a message, and we will respond as soon as we can.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐅𝐥𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
- 𝐒𝐭. 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 & 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡
- 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟐
- 𝟑:𝟑𝟎 𝐏𝐌 – 𝟕:𝟑𝟎 𝐏𝐌

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐭.

Submit comments directly to Valley Link: https://vltransmission.com/contact/
If possible, please provide the Fluvanna Historical Society with a screenshot of comments made through the electronic link above or a copy of other comments about historic and cultural resources that you may have made by other means.
Please do not assume others will identify or advocate for the historic and cultural significance of your property. Property-owner participation matters, and the opportunity to influence routing decisions is narrowing quickly.

05/06/2026

You can now watch the full documentary of Engraved: Finding Family at Oak Hill Cemetery by Horace Scruggs, III on Fluvanna Historical Society's new YouTube Channel. Thank you to our friends and community historians at West Bottom Baptist Church, the sponsor Virginia Humanities, and documentarian Horace Scruggs for this impactful film.

Engraved: Finding Family at Oak Hill Cemetery in Fluvanna, Virginia - Full Documentary

04/30/2026

Great chance to learn about Black patriots in the American Revolution - including those from Fluvanna! A chance to hear from Shelley Murphy is not to be missed! Please note - you need to register for this event.

Finally Remembered: Black Patriots in the American Revolution

During the American Revolution, Black men and women in Central Virginia stood at the crossroads of liberty and bo***ge. Join us as we honor the Black Patriots and help restore their rightful place in America’s founding story. As part of this experience, guests can also participate in a complimentary genealogy test to explore their roots and connections to the past.

Saturday, May 9th
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Location: Jefferson School African American Heritage Center Auditorium

Register at the link in our bio or at bit.ly/4cSRb5p

04/30/2026

Today for National "Poem in your Pocket" day, we share "Colors" by Karenne Wood. Please share this poignant poem with others!

Karenne Wood was a member of the Monacan Indian Nation, an anthropologist, and a passionate advocate on behalf of Virginia Indians. She lived here in Fluvanna County, and near the end of her life was integral to the effort to preserve Rassawek, the historic cultural and religious center of the Monacan, located in Columbia at the confluence of the James and Rivanna rivers. All who knew her recognized in her a soul-deep connection to the earth, her ancestors, and the people she loved. We are honored to share her voice today.

Colors

My mother found me in the

basement, seven years old with new

watercolors, painting my arms

Indian red because I couldn’t

wait for summer.

The school bus would

stop for the light

colored children and pass the darker

ones by. I remember a boy told

to move his desk out to the hall,

who tried to join Cub Scouts, but the

group was “too full.”

I think of

my daughters’ pale, perfect

skin, lighter than mine, the way

their hair curls. They haven’t painted

themselves yet, but in Aberdeen,

Seattle, Syracuse, or Richmond, a seven-

year-old with black hair or blonde will be

scrubbing or painting her hands or just

waiting for summer.

And I say

let her be a moonflower

unfolding to the night. Let him be

Carolina’s blue-shadowed black waters.

Let their children be

every shade of the soil that feeds us.

~Karenne Wood from ‘Markings on Earth,’ 2001

Photo Credits: Tom Cogill, photo in the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, left;
and VCU, right.

04/26/2026

Today at 3:00! We can’t wait to see you there!

📅 MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 📅

Just a reminder — ENGRAVED: Finding Family at Oak Hill Cemetery is coming to West Bottom Baptist Church on Sunday, April 26th at 3:00 PM, and we don't want you to miss it!

This documentary short film is a beautiful tribute to the lives and legacies preserved at Oak Hill Cemetery and the community that has fought to keep their memory alive.

📍 West Bottom Baptist Church
2757 Bremo Rd, Bremo Bluff, VA 23022
📅 Sunday, April 26, 2026
🕒 3:00 PM

Spread the word — share this post and invite your family and friends. We'll see you there! 💚