Roanoke Meeting Provides Views of Past and Future of American Chestnut in Virginia
From mouse-eaten remains of trading records found at one of the few remaining mountain trading posts in southwest Virginia, Dr. Ralph L. Lutts provided attendees at the Virginia Chapter Annual Meeting a close-up view of early Twentieth Century history of American chestnut trade. Dr. Lutts was the keynote speaker at the meeting held November 10 at the Roanoke Higher Education Center. His research focuses on Bedford, Carroll, Floyd, Franklin, Grayson and Patrick counties and includes data gleaned from historic trading records saved in a drawer at the still-operating Mayberry Trading Post in Patrick County. His presentation included slides of individual customer ledgers from the early 1900s showing cash, scrip and barter transactions. These records showed many barter transactions where chestnuts were used as payment during the fall harvest season. Indeed, the Mayberry Trading Post received so many chestnuts at the height of the chestnut trade that the building was reinforced structurally to hold the weight of chestnuts stored in the upper story.
Because freshly harvested chestnuts are perishable, traders transported them by the horse-drawn schooner wagonload from the many mountain community trading posts to railway stations where they were shipped by express rail service to Richmond and other east coast cities. Agricultural census records analyzed by Dr. Lutts showed that trade in American chestnuts blossomed after the arrival of rail service in mountainous counties, peaked as the blight approached from the north, and crashed once the blight arrived in southwest Virginia.
Dr. Lutts is an environmental historian. He lives in Patrick County near the Meadows of Dan and serves on the faculty of Goddard College in Vermont, using technology to teach remotely. His publications include, “Like Manna from God: The American Chestnut Trade in Southwestern Virginia” (2004).
Dr. John Scrivani, Vice President for Science and outgoing President of the Virginia Chapter, reported on the status of work in Virginia to restore the American chestnut to Virginia’s woodlands. In addition to providing an overview of the ongoing efforts to breed blight-resistant American chestnuts, Dr. Scrivani described some of the planned steps and likely technologies that The American Chestnut Foundation and the Virginia Chapter will use as they move through the processes of breeding, testing, and reforestation toward the ultimate goal of re-establishing the American chestnut to its former role as a keystone species in the forest and a significant economic resource for people.
At a brief business meeting, Chapter Members elected four new Board Members: Carl Absher from Blacksburg, Scott Kasprowicz from Middleburg, Katy McCune from Charlottesville and Robert Lawrence from The Plains. Members also elected Jack LaMonica as President, John Scrivani as Vice President for Science, Kathy Marmet as Vice President for Education, Dick Olson as Secretary, and Charles Mackall as Treasurer.
