Mountain Valley Preservation Alliance Inc. and Historic Fincastle Inc. are partnering for a unique tour of the Town of Fincastle.
“Evolving Landscapes of Historic Fincastle” is the name given to the tour that will be held Saturday, June 10.
Newcomers, long-time residents and natives will have the opportunity to see Fincastle in a whole new light.
It’s an opportunity “to check out that quaint, incredibly preserved village called Fincastle that sits within a beautiful viewshed among five steeples of the courthouse and four churches,” the announcement about the tour says.
The Town of Fincastle is often referred to as “a virtual museum of American architecture from the 1770s to the 21st century,” and the tour will give visitors a chance to go inside its historic homes and other structures.
They will also be able to view the marriage documents of the famous Expedition Explorer William Clark, who married Judith Clark of Fincastle, and see other historic papers signed by some of the country’s most notable leaders – Patrick Henry and George Washington as examples.
The tour will take visitors inside brick vault within the Botetourt Courthouse, which has survived ravaging fires in the town and preserved genealogical records of early settlers— and, as the county seat that once geographically stretched all the way to the Mississippi River, now hosts hundreds of family and other genealogical seekers per year.
The tours will run from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include walking and site visits that include entering and viewing some of the town’s oldest historic buildings.
Experienced tour guides from Historic Fincastle Inc. will lead the tours through the streets and into the beautifully preserved buildings where visitors will observe different architecture and hear about the people who built them and lived there.
There will be information about the town’s fires and their impact on the landscape, and fun stories about Jockey Alley, and the telephone operator who sat in an upstairs bay window overlooking Main Street partaking of and “promoting” all the local gossip going on below.
A box lunch by Heritage Family Market will be available during the tour.
Registration begins at 9:45 a.m. at the Botetourt Courthouse, Main Street in Fincastle. To provide the best possible experience, this event is limited to the first 100 registrants.
Registration forms and flyers with additional information can be obtained from these websites: http://mountainvalleypreservation.org or www.hisfin.org.
The cost per MVPA or HFI member is $25 and $30 for non-members; and $12 per child age 12+. The registration deadline is Tuesday, May 30, (the day after Memorial Day).
For further information, contact Sharon Horn, 540-430-0910, hi.meadows.farm@gmail.com; or Peggy Crosson, 540-354-9698, margaretcrosson@msn.com.
The rain date is Sunday, June 11 at 1:30 p.m.
