Classroom

The Holt-Ashwell house belonged to Andrew Holt in the early 19th century. Holt was an emancipated African-American who worked as a baker, most likely from this location. He was successful enough to purchase the freedom of his wife, Judy and two sons, Burwell and Dennis. Records show that he was twice charged with holding "an unlawful assemblage of negroes" in his home in 1842 and 1851. The charges were dismissed and shortly thereafter, he donated a lot near his home for the construction of a church for African-Americans. The current church building was constructed in 1930 and is the third structure on that lot.Investigations of the Holt-Ashwell House indicate it was likely built in the mid-19th century, but there are elements of earlier construction incorporated into the building. The five-room, two-floor structure has a painted-on faux brick finish on the exterior. The house was unoccupied when it burned in 2017, though it did sustain significant fire damage. The owner subsequently donated the building to Friends of New London and plans for restoration are still under consideration.

Holt-Ashwell exterior after the fire; New London Methodist Church, North in the background

Holt-Ashwell first floor interior after the fire 

Holt-Ashwell second floor interior after the fire 

The Holt-Ashwell House was constructed in the early 19th century in New London, VA, and it is unknown who first built it. The lot that the house rests on can be traced to the founding of New London in 1754. The lot is connected with Mary Draper Ingles who was captured by the Shawnee Amerindians during the French and Indian War and escaped her captors. For about two years after her ordeal, she lived in New London with her husband William who is listed as the original owner of this property. In 1826, an emancipated Black man named Andrew Holt, purchased four lots, including the one where the house sits now. Holt donated part of his property for the construction of an African American church in 1851, and the building that stands there today is the 3rd church to be erected on the lot.

Holt-Ashwell House 

From the 18th century to the 20th, a walk along Alum Springs Road is a window in the forgotten history of New London, Virginia.

The property where the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel sits today was originally owned by Colonel James Callaway. Callaway was a prominent figure in the area around the time of the American Revolution. His father, William Callaway,&nbsp;had donated the original tract of land which became New London. Callaway owned this land between 1757 and his death in 1809. The connection to Callaway, as well as a few primary source writings, provide evidence that the Revolutionary-era military arsenal from this area was located on the property. Another prominent local figure Samuel Miller, eventually acquired this property from his mother in 1817. Miller and his mother also operated the Roland Academy school for girls out of the Mead's Tavern property down the road. A Ralph Smith owned the property briefly and then Peregrine Echols purchased the plot of land. Echols operated a tavern on the property. He was also the first to utilize the nearby natural springs as an attraction for guests. Echols bottled and sold the spring water and began to use his tavern as a place of lodging, referring to the building as the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel. The building which stands today is not the original tavern. The original property was destroyed in a fire in 1871. John Maben, who purchased the property in 1877 after this fire, built a new hotel on the same site. This new hotel also burned to the ground in 1887, making the building which stands today the third version of the hotel constructed on the property. The Bedford Alum Springs Hotel was used as a private residence for about seventy years. In the summer of 2018 Liberty University purchased the hotel and the property. The school plans to utilize the site as an opportunity for hands-on learning and to conduct historical investigation and restoration at the site.

The original Bedford Alum Springs Hotel was constructed in the 1870s. The building which stands on the property today was constructed in 1913 and is the third hotel on the site. The two previous structures were both destroyed in fires. Designed to appeal to travelers seeking the health benefits of the nearby alum mineral springs, it provided the impetus for a brief revival of the town of New London in the 19th century. At the time the town was briefly renamed Bedford Springs to capitalize on the popularity of the resort. For the last 70 years or so, the building served as a private residence, until Liberty University purchased the property in the summer of 2018. Plans for archaeological investigation and restoration are in progress. Evidence points to the likelihood that a Revolutionary War arsenal was located on the site.

Bedford Alum Springs Hotel

New London, Virginia was home to an arsenal that manufactured and supplied weapons and equipment for the Continental Army and state militias during the American Revolution. Weapons from the arsenal were used to support several important campaigns, including Colonel George Rogers Clark’s Northwest expedition and General Nathaniel Greene’s Southern campaign. After the war, the arsenal remained under state control until 1794 when Congress passed an act authorizing the War Department to construct “three or four arsenals” to keep the army properly equipped . With its already established arsenal, New London was a natural choice. However, with the establishment of the National Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, VA, the process of moving the arsenal at New London to the larger federal arsenal began in 1798. Despite no longer being used to manufacture weapons, the New London facility continued to be used for military storage until at least 1812 and would eventually be abandoned altogether. Although the original arsenal structure is no longer standing, it is suspected to be located on the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel property. These suspicions have been reenforced further with the uncovering of munitions from the period located on the property through archeological test surveys conducted in the spring of 2020.

Arsenal at New London, Virginia

The Driskill Store was built by Willis Washington Driskill and established about 1896. The store closed about two years after his death in March 1924. Willis Washington Driskell was born in Campbell County, Va. on April 2, 1867 to Napoleon Watt Driskill- a Civil War veteran- and Mary Elizabeth Walton Driskill. Willis also had several uncles in the Civil War. Willis married Mary Belle Haas of New London on June 20, 1894. C. R. Tucker was married to Ada Haas, Mary Belle Haas ' sister. In 1902, Willis and C. R. Tucker also had a saloon at 1200 Main Street, Va. It was called the Driskill-Tucker Saloon and had its own labels on whiskey bottles. W. W. Driskill was granted a license to keep a Bar Room and sell by retail, wine, ardent spirits, mault(sp) liquors or any mixture thereof at Bedford Springs with E. W. Harvey, surety from the 1st day of May 1893 to the 30th of April 1894. Also, E. W. Harvey was granted a Retail License and Bar room at Flynns with W. W. Driskill, surety (Campbell Co.) Liquor licenses were granted for one year in the court. In March 1895, Willis was granted a license to sell ardent spirits, etc. at the house of Mrs. Haas at Bedford Springs. In April 1896, Willis was granted a retail liquor license as a dealer at New London and could keep a barroom. The store carried various items such as gingham material, spools of thread, shoes/boots, overalls, shirts and pants, nails, mule/horse collars, bridles, candy, corn, sugar, coffee, lard, horse feed, fertilizer and many other items relevant to that time. It would have been the Walmart of its time. It also had a barroom and post office. The store also served as a social center for the community.

The former general store and post office in New London was constructed by Willis Washington Driskill in 1897.  The building was open for business as a general store until 1930. W.W. Driskill operated several businesses in the area including the Tucker Saloon in downtown Lynchburg and bar out of the house of Mrs. Haas in New London. Evidence indicates that the lot on which the building now sits is near the location of the Revolutionary era arsenal. It is most likely across the street of the store. The current owners have restored the building, retaining some of the original features, most notably a pair of ladders which attach to the ceiling along a track. The floorboards show wear patterns and ghost marks from counters and shelves that would have been present in the original store.

W.W. Driskill General Store

The congregation of the New London United Methodist Church dates to the 1820s. The current building was first erected in 1850 with a significant addition in 1965. 

The church building has housed the offices of Friends of New London since 2005 and was donated to FNL for preservation in 2017. The interior has been updated and is rented out .

New London United Methodist Church

Nestled at the bottom of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Colonial town of New London is an unincorporated community that sits in Campbell County, Virginia. It once served as a last stop before travelers headed West over the Appalachian Mountains using the Great Wilderness Road. New London became the county seat of Bedford County in 1754 and Mead’s Tavern was built shortly thereafter in 1763. The tavern is thought to be the oldest standing structure in Central Virginia and is the only Colonial era structure still standing in New London. The building itself has gone through numerous changes over the past two and a half centuries. William Mead, a prominent and wealthy man from Pennsylvania, was the original builder and owner of Mead’s Tavern. Mead’s Tavern’s history is most remembered for a few key events in American history. Patrick Henry’s well-known “Beef Speech” during the infamous Johnny Hook Trial took place across the street from Mead’s Tavern at the New London courthouse. It also resided down the road from a Colonial Arsenal used in the Revolutionary War and served as an aid for General Nathaniel Greene. In 1784 the building was sold, and it continued to operate as a tavern until the early 1800s when it was turned into Roland Academy. The academy was a girl’s school run by Samuel Miller, who also once owned the property of the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel, a New London resort located a short walk away from the Tavern. Once the girls school closed down, Mead’s Tavern was then turned into a private home and used as the doctor’s office for Dr.Thaddeus Kabler, and then later turned into insurance office for William Abbott. It was then sold as a private home once again before being sold to The Friends of New London in 2012. The Friends of New London is a group of locals concerned with the preservation of New London history. In 2015, the organization sold the property to Liberty University. Since then, Liberty has been in the process of restoring Mead’s Tavern and using it as a hands-on learning experience for the students in their history department. An archaeological dig underneath the porch of the Tavern turned up 18th century coins, most likely dropped by patrons of Mead’s Tavern, as well as a button from the uniform of a soldier in Wayne's Legion, the first American Army. In 2019, a game piece fashioned from broken dishes, as well as pearlware was found during excavations at Mead’s Tavern. The building is considered an important piece of American history as it has played a role in every century since the founding of the United States. It has seen famous court trials, the American Revolution and so much more. Liberty University is working hard to research and collect enough information about the building and its history to nominate it for the National Register.

Built in 1763, Mead's Tavern is considered to be the oldest standing structure in Central Virginia. William Mead, one of the trustees of the town of New London, acquired Lot 6 when the town was first chartered. It was there that he erected a "magnificent house" which functioned as a tavern for several decades. In the early 19th century, the building was transformed into Roland Academy, a school for girls. After passing through the hands of various private owners, the building was purchased by the Friends of New London in 2012.

In 2015, Liberty University purchased Mead's Tavern from the Friends of New London. They have since contracted with local firms for archaeological and architectural studies which will pave the way for application to the National Register. Planned restoration will provide a hands-on learning lab for Liberty University history students.



Mead's Tavern

Founded in 1754, New London was the first county seat for Bedford. The courthouse was located at the intersection of what is today Town Fork and Alum Springs Road, at the center of the once bustling center for trade and travel in colonial Virginia. The courthouse and jail, neither of which survive, were constructed on Lot 10, which is designated today by a Virginia Historical marker.  In 1791, Bedford County was divided and Campbell County was formed. The Bedford County seat relocated and the court was later moved to the new the town of Liberty, later renamed Bedford. This courthouse was the site of Patrick Henry’s famous “beef speech,” delivered her as part of the Johnny Hook trial in 1784. 

First Bedford County Courthouse

Dr. Nicholas Kabler operated his medical practice from this building from the 1890s until the mid-20th century. Dr. Kabler was the local doctor for the New London community as well as the on-call physician for the nearby Bedford Alum Springs Hotel and New London Academy. Prior to opening in this location, Dr. Kabler practiced medicine with his father, Dr. Thaddeus Kabler in the building across the street, the former Mead's Tavern. This much smaller building includes rooms that were once used as a waiting area and exam room. Dr. Kabler lived in rooms behind these in a part of the building that is no longer present. After Kabler's death in 1946, the house was rented out to private residents but it is now vacant. There has been interest in a restoration project, but there is no known program underway. 

Office of Dr. Nicholas Kabler

The current New London African-American Methodist Episcopal Church is the third building erected on this lot. In 1851 Andrew Holt, an emancipated African-American, donated the small parcel of land for the construction of a church "for the special but not exclusive benefit of coloured people." This current structure was constructed in 1930 where it remained in use until 1990. In early 2017, it was acquired by the Friends of New London for restoration, a project that is currently underway.


Historic New London, Virginia

Holt-Ashwell House

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources