Proud to be a Virginian: Kent's Store
Most folks know I've moved from Spotsylvania County out towards Fluvanna County to a little place known as Kent's Store, Virginia. Formed in 1777, Fluvanna County was formerly part of Albermarle County and has a long history along the Rivanna River during its heyday of the early 19th century canals. Patrick Henry used to hunt Fluvanna County. The town of Columbia (near the point where the James and Rivanna meet) almost became the capital of Virginia, and used to be a booming canal and tobacco port. Even the old capital of the Monocan tribe is rumored to be somewhere along the James (though no one knows precisely where).
In 1781, Cornwallis destroyed the Point of Fork arsenal while Marquis de Lafayette loomed in the distance, drawing out the British and parrying them from capturing Governor Jefferson before forcing their long retreat back to Yorktown -- with Washington ready to blockade him. The hills of Fluvanna are where Cornwallis broke his sword... not a bad story for a little county in the heart of the Commonwealth?
Where I live in Kent's Store, we have our own history playing into the present. There's not much in the town -- a post office, a Masonic lodge, a funeral parlor, a church, community center, a few Victorian homes and of course a tiny general store (guess the name). It's not much of a town in the traditional sense, but rather a collection of buildings that sprung up around the first establishment started by one James Madison Kent in 1845.
Kent's Store got its start back in the 1850's when a young family bought the land and started their own general store. Quickly it grew into a landmark for passing travellers, both heading from Charlottesville to Richmond and also down to Columbia, an old tobacco wharf at the point where the Rivanna and James meet.
The area is certainly off the beaten track. About 15-20 min. outside of Charlottesville, the town is about as far away from development as anyone could hope. Venable Road heads off towards Wilmington and Palmyra heading west (Wilmington being a prominent Revolutionary War town) and off towards Richmond in the east. It is situated on somewhat of a hill, as Venable Road heads looks over some beautiful farmland heading south.
The entire town is bordered by Venable Creek, flowing north before wrapping itself around my 10 acres and heading west towards the Rivanna. Most of that land is wooded, with a tree farm bordering the northwest part before giving way to newly built five-acre homes and Kent's Store Road (601).
There's quite a bit of history at Kent's Store, so much that the Fluvanna County Historical Society has a book, a rather large set of research on the store, and even a DVD of old stories.
The store itself isn't the original, though the building attached to it looks awful old inside. Mostly cinderblock, it looks like it was built in the 1930's and consists of the store itself, a couple outbuildings, and a rather large barn-like structure towards the back. The exterior makes it look rather new, but the interior shows nothing but dark hardwood. Used to be a church before it was converted to its current use: storage.
We've been working on the property for about six months now, and Missy and the kids should finally (!) be able to move into our newly refurbished house by next week.
In the meantime, it turns out that our neighbors who run the store were in the process of selling for personal reasons. So for a modest investment, Missy and I bought the store.
That's right: I now own Kent's Store.
So ends the story of what's great about Virginia. I buy land, an old house, fix it up, buy a store, and get to give my kids a taste of the life I knew growing up in Caroline County. Sure, it's not a trailer, three brothers, and a creek. It's a house, sisters and brothers, and a general store in Jefferson's backyard.
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James Atticus Bowden 
9 Comments:
May the Lord bless and keep you and yours through this life in that wonderful place.
I'm going to have to stop by the store someday. It can't be more than 20 minutes from where my wife and I live.
July 1781 is when Cornwallis marched through Fluvanna, the whole Jack Jouett bit and all.
I think we have to get the cannon out!
4: Cannon provided by Art.
We will revolutionize the road bowling sport! :D
There's gotta be a historical regiment stationed in Fluvanna that we can co-opt.
The First Virginia Kent's Store Regiment and Drinking Society.
Aww yeah...
11th Virginia Regiment
There's gotta be a regiment stationed in Fluvanna that we can emulate!
They don't reference whether they were colonial militia or regulars, but they do reference when Cornwallis came up in 1781 to burn Point of Fork Arsenal, von Steuben blasted the militia for running away.
”Every farmer is a general … but nobody wishes to be a soldier.”
Haven't changed much, have we? :)
von Steuben was training companies for the Green Army to be sent south.
So they may very well have been Virginia regulars.
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