On Saturday, May 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Town of Fincastle, Historic Fincastle, Inc., Botetourt Kiwanis, Botetourt DAR, Botetourt County Historical Society and Botetourt County Schools are sponsoring an event that will open the Town of Fincastle to provide an opportunity to visit some of the buildings and learn some history of the town.
There will be information stations throughout the town. The Early Cabin will be open with re-enactors, as well as Revolutionary era interpreters.
The “headquarters” for the event will be in the Big Spring Park on Back Street where the Monacan Indians will be demonstrating their culture. Also, a secondary “headquarters” will be located at the Courthouse Square in front of the (old) Western Hotel.
But first, a little history of the town.
Step Back Into History
Our name is widely known:
Far, far away and from a warmer zone
Fair tourists come with spirits high and gay –
And come to stay!
This is our lasting wealth:
The mineral water, and the bracing air,
The long romantic drives with tonic rare,
Imparting health.
Can you imagine the Town of Fincastle as a destination place for the use of healing springs water? This partial poem by Fanny Johnston appeared in The Fincastle Herald in 1885. People from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Vicksburg, Macon, St. Louis, and Houston traveled to Fincastle to discover the “mineral waters of the only ferromagnesian springs yet discovered on the continents.” Where did the visitors stay when they visited the town? In the 1880s there were two main hotels: The Western Hotel and Hayth’s Hotel.
Have you ever wondered why there aren’t many buildings built before 1870 on Main Street, Back Street and Roanoke Street near the center of town?
Let’s “step back into history” to understand. On the night of May 6, 1870 a fire occurred that burned a great deal of Fincastle. According to the Daily Dispatch issue of May 10, 1870, “The following special telegram, received on Saturday, brings us the sad intelligence of a terrible calamity at Fincastle, in Botetourt County, on Friday night last: ‘Fincastle, Va. May 7th, Half of the town was burned last night. More than four hundred people are left homeless. About $200,000 worth of property was destroyed. The county jail and the Fincastle Herald office were burned.”
The Daily Chronicle on May 12, 1870 described the fire and its devastation in this way: “The Terrible Fire In Fincastle occurred on Friday night, 6th May, commencing at 1 am and continuing its ravages until 6 am. Western Hotel buildings entire, John Luster, proprietor, partially insured; county Jail, occupied by Sam. Hedrick; William K. McDowell & Co.’s corner building, occupied by Mrs. Roland, partially insured; Carper & Brother’s dry goods and drug store, partially insured; Aunspaugh & Shue’s silversmith shop; Tom Gilliam , dwelling and barber-shop; Jacob Carper’ s shoe shop; G.W. Bittle’s confectionery, J.H.H. Figgatt, residence, law office, and library, partially insured; Rev. G. Gray’s dwelling, Judge T.D. Houston’s residence, including law office of self, Martin, Dr. Carper’s drug store, and L. Houseman’s dry goods store, partially insured; Masonic Hall, basement occupied by Herald office and dwelling James Luster’s entire block of buildings.” (This is a partial quote but gets across the idea that many businesses and homes were destroyed.)
The cause of the fire was described in the Shenandoah Herald from May 19, 1870: “THE ORIGIN of the fire was in the livery stable attached to the Western Hotel owned by Mr. John B. Luster, on Main Street (The Western Hotel was located behind the present-day Courthouse.) It was first seen at ?? o’clock (couldn’t tell the time from the transcript) when the flames had just been ignited. The alarm was promptly sounded, and the citizens rallied to the scene, punctually, prepared to extinguish the incipient blaze. The “fire” engine was also brought forward and put in active play. But the fire had caught in a bale of hay, and a high wind was prevailing, it spread with terrible rapidity, despite the utmost efforts that were made to arrest its course. The first house that caught was the hotel itself, and several wooden outbuildings adjoining, all of which were speedily consumed. By this time the danger and tenor of conflagration began to fully develop; for the flaming hay and heavy sparks and fragments of burning timbers were flying in every direction through the air, lighting on roofs two hundred yards distant, and multiplying the seeds of the destroying fire.” Somehow the Courthouse managed to remain unharmed in this fire. (It did burn in December 1970, different fire 100-1/2 years later.)
Fortunately, though the loss of property was heavy, no serious bodily injury was sustained by any person. Judge T.D. Houston fell off a horse and was badly hurt. Mr. John Backland was struck by a falling window and knocked senseless. He subsequently rallied. No other accidents are reported. As I was reading other reports from across the Commonwealth, I was pleased that citizens from the valley, Richmond area and other areas reached out to help the citizens of Fincastle.
Many of the buildings that were burned were replaced with brick structures. As the Western Hotel was rebuilt, it served the community in different ways in addition to being a destination location for visitors going to the Fincastle Springs (located a mile east of town on what is now Blue Ridge Turnpike).
According to The Fincastle Herald, March 1894, “The lot owned by Mr. A.M. Mcflintic on the corner of Roanoke and Main streets has been cleared off preparatory to building thereon. An addition is to be made to the Western Hotel in a short time. It will consist of a large dining room, with lodging rooms above.”
The Fincastle Herald in June 1891 announced new advertisements. Fresh Meat! I have opened a meat market in Fincastle, at the Western Hotel, where I will have a regular market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The best the country affords of beef, mutton and other meats will be kept in market.”
By the summer of 1894 Fincastle was “quite a lively town”’ and Hayth’s Hotel was “filled to full capacity since the opening of the season” with “nearly if not quite one hundred boarders,” … We can, however, form some pictures of the activities of these summers: ”Mother Goose party,” donkey parties, phantom balls, musicals and other socials. (Paraphrased from “The Town of Fincastle, Virginia” by Frances J. Niederer, 1965 p. 58-59)
The replacement of two buildings of the Western Hotel is still in use behind the Courthouse in Courthouse Square. The old “bar/tavern” is now occupied by Virginia Tech Extension Office. In 1968, it was “rebuilt and restored” by Historic Fincastle, Inc. after it was partially destroyed by a fire. Lewis Summers, a local contractor, did the work. He also built many houses in and around Fincastle in the ’50s and ’60s. The “Old General District Courthouse” is still in use by Botetourt County offices and will be the temporary office of the Clerk of the Court during the replacement/renovation of the present-day Courthouse. The “Old Jail was re-built in 1897 under the direction of S.L. Rice. It has delightfully decorative iron work of the balcony that represents the influence of some of the New Orleans visitors.
A quote from 1975 (Richmond Mercury): “The town (referring to Fincastle) is a virtual museum of American architecture from the 1770s through the twentieth century with narrow streets lined with homes of tradesmen and professional men of the 18th and 19th centuries. Notable buildings include the Jeffersonian County Courthouse, the gothic style jail, the Western Hotel and the three mid-nineteenth century churches. Fincastle is not a restoration, nor is it heavily visited by tourists. It is a living bit of America’s small-town heritage.”
If you step back into history and study Fincastle, you can see how fires have helped form our town of today – the very destructive fire of 1870 and the Courthouse fire of 1970, just to mention two.
~ Patsy Dickerson, Historic Fincastle Inc.
