A copy of “Virginia’s Cattle Story: The first Four Centuries” is now available in the research library at the Botetourt Museum of History & Culture in Fincastle. It was donated recently by Pat and Rhonda Ryan of Sugar Tree Hollow, Eagle Rock. This 358-page book was commissioned by the Virginia Cattlemen’s Foundation and the Dairy Foundation of Virginia. It was written by Katharine L. Brown and Nancy T. Sorrells and published by Lot’s Wife in Staunton.
Local names and pictures will be recognized.
How cattle shaped Virginia’s history begins when Botetourt was part of Augusta County. Revolutionary soldier Robert Preston was a surveyor and landowner who joined with his neighbors who raised cattle to drive the herds by horseback to Philadelphia to sell. The profits were used to buy commodities needed back on the frontier. Animal husbandry was economically critical in the 18th century. Roads were cleared over the mountains to move cattle east creating an artery for expansion of the western frontier. During Virginia’s wars soldiers needed protein to fight and cattle continued to be important.
Today, dairy farmers and cattlemen use science and computers to improve their industry, which is still vital to the economy of Virginia. This book is an important resource for the history and culture of Botetourt County.
~ Botetourt County Museum of History & Culture
