DRBA to Visit Reynolds Homestead for Guided Hike and Tours

DRBA’s February 7 First Saturday Outing will be a 1.5-mile hike and tours at the 1843 house and grounds of the Reynolds Homestead in Critz, VA. Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the entrance to the Continuing Education Center.

Coordinated by Wayne Kirkpatrick, the outing will begin with a hike guided by Kyle Peer, Superintendent of the Forest Resources Research Center, who will describe forestry projects on this Commonwealth Campus of Virginia Tech. Hikers will see two cemeteries, one for the Reynolds family and one for their slaves. Reynolds Homestead Director, Kay Dunkley, will summarize the findings of a recently completed archeological survey of the slave cemetery.

Afternoon tours of the historic house, outbuildings, and grounds will be offered. Tobacco magnate R. J. Reynolds was born here in 1853, and Kitty Reynolds, one of the plantation’s slaves, earned renown for saving the life of R. J.’s father and for later becoming the “mother” of civil rights in Patrick County.

Participants in the outing should supply drinks and lunch, wear hiking boots and layers of water-shedding artificial fabric or wool, and be prepared for rain or wind. All participants will be asked to sign a waiver form.

Directions: Reynolds Homestead is located at 463 Homestead Lane, Critz, Virginia.

• From Martinsville: Travel west on US 58 about twenty miles. Turn right onto Abram Penn Highway, indicated by the second of two brown signs. Drive about three miles and bear left onto Homestead Lane. Drive to the end of the short road.
• From Stuart: Travel east on US 58 for about nine miles. Turn left onto Abram Penn Highway, indicated by a brown sign. Drive about three miles and bear left onto Homestead Lane. Drive to the end of the short road.
• From Winston-Salem: Travel north on NC 8, crossing into Virginia. Turn right onto Ayers Orchard Road. Drive about six miles and turn right onto South Fork Loop. Drive half a mile and turn right onto US. 58. Drive one-quarter mile and turn left onto Abram Penn Highway, indicated by a brown sign. Drive about three miles and bear left onto Homestead Lane. Drive to the end of the short road.

Outings and meetings of the Dan River Basin Association are open to the public without charge.

For more information, contact Wayne Kirkpatrick, 276-694-4449, wynbtyk@embarqmail.com

Article and photo contributed by T Butler

Posted by Vicky Thomas