Making the Past Come Alive for Future Generations
The Greater Chuckatuck Historical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, began its history book project in the Spring of 2009, breaking it into six stages: organizing, collecting information, creating, publishing, distributing, and archiving. Our aim was to align with the foundation’s vision and secure funding to publish a book/DVD.
To achieve this vision, we created committees and work groups organized by locality, topics of interest, and tasks to be done. We learned that work and support for various tasks sometimes overlapped from phase to phase as new information and needs were addressed.
The geographical scope of the project included the rural Virginia villages of downtown Chuckatuck, Cherry Grove, Everets, Exit, Longview, Milner’s, Oakland, Reid’s Ferry, Sandy Bottom and Wills’ Corner/Cherry Grove. The influence and impact of American Indians and African Americans, as well as the diverse nationalities and religious affiliations of the wider Chuckatuck community, are described in the book and DVD.
The culture and activities of schools, churches, businesses, farming, and community organizations were also part of this publication of stories.