Henry County

by Thomas D Perry

Overview

Formed in January 1777, Henry County was named for the Commonwealth of Virginia's first governor, Patrick Henry, who lived in the county from 1779 until 1784. Located along the border of North Carolina, the county was once home to the famous antebellum Hairston family. In the 20th century, textiles, furniture, and the chemical manufacturer DuPont made up the large industrial base of the county. With the recent outsourcing of jobs, the county has turned to other economic sources such as the Martinsville Speedway, Virginia Museum of Natural History, and the Bassett Historical Center, which provided most of the photographs in this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781531644024
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing Library Editions
Publication date:	02/25/2009
Pages:	130
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.38(d)

About the Author

Thomas D. Perry grew up in neighboring Patrick County. A graduate of Virginia Tech, Perry started the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace in 1990. The nonprofit organization has preserved 75 acres of Stuart property in Ararat, including the housing site where Civil War general James Ewell Brown Stuart was born. Tom is the author of six other books, including The Free State of Patrick: Patrick County Virginia in the Civil War and J. E. B. Stuart's Birthplace: the History of the Laurel Hill Farm. Perry produces a monthly email newsletter about regional history from his website freestateofpatrick.com.

Editorial Reviews

Title: Book Reviews
Author: Joe Tennis
Publisher: Bristol Herald
Date: 3/14/2010

Author Thomas D. Perry takes a nostalgic look at Martinsville and Henry County, Va., in a recently released collection of historic photographs.

The timing couldn't come better for this 128-page book.
The region of Martinsville and Henry County has been hit hard with factory closings and layoffs in recent years.

Still, this book recalls a more vibrant town, when Martinsville's textiles interests made it the "Sweatshirt Capital of the World."

Today, the uptown Martinsville area has been re-invented with a newly opened higher education facility near the old Henry County Courthouse. New owners have also taken over old buildings. The uptown district is also home to a trail built atop an old railroad.

"Henry County, Virginia: Images of America" shows photos of old times in Martinsville, including the locomotives that once ran on that rails-to-trails path.

The book's cover depicts the John D. Bassett High School varsity cheerleaders, pictured in the 1970 Bassett Christmas parade, holding a "Bassett Bengal" mascot.

Inside, a map shows Henry County along the North Carolina border, formed in 1777 and named for Patrick Henry. The county once stretched into parts of what are now Carroll, Franklin and Patrick counties.

Of course, a book about this region would not be complete without a shot of NASCAR's mammoth Martinsville Speedway. While it now seats several thousand, that track opened in 1947 as a dirt track with seats for 750.

From the Publisher