Art In Bloom

What would John B. Anglin make of the Little Post Office were the star route mail delivery contractor to return to life on April 26, Martinsville-Henry County Garden Day?

Anglin, who ran his star route postal route business from the building at 207 Starling Avenue from 1893 to 1917, would see on the building’s grounds a new community sculpture garden and automotive works of art: vintage Porsches. Indoors, he would find an exhibit of Christmas cards from watercolors by a well-respected local artist, the late Wanda Prillaman.

Quite a change from 1893, when the mail was delivered on horseback or by horse and wagon. Star routes, the term for the contracted services, were then the predominant mail delivery system in rural areas of this country. Men would pick up the mail from railroad stations and deliver it to the fourth-class post offices, usually in general stores, on their routes. In Martinsville, Anglin would grow his business, acquiring more star route contracts from the government. Eventually he had an estimated 500 in 10 states. He oversaw their operation from the Little Post Office.

A later owner of the building, American Furniture Company Chairman Richard M. Simmons Sr., used it as his personal office. Single-room office buildings like the Little Post Office were once prevalent. They were typically used as post offices or as professional offices, say for a doctor or lawyer. Such offices were often finely built, as they usually stood on the grounds of the homes of their occupants. So say the records of the National Register of Historic Places on which the Little Post Office is now listed.

Martinsville’s red-brick Queen Anne building, with its ironwork, milled accents and stained-glass accents, is worthy of inclusion on the National Register in no small part because it is one of the relatively few of its kind left.

The building is now called the Historic Little Post Office. It has been renovated by Will Gravely and Piedmont Arts as a space for art exhibits and special events, such as Garden Day.

The logo for this year’s Garden Day, themed “Art In Bloom, features a painting by Kelly Gravely Mattox, sister of Will Gravely. The two also have a connection with Piedmont Arts that runs deep; their father was a founding member.The tour showcases Martinsville’s Art and Culture District, with its museums, historical sites and more, plus two nearby homes.

Were Anglin to reappear in what is now the Art and Culture District, he could walk down Starling to number 215, Piedmont Arts. Once the home of the Schottland family, the structure has been repurposed and expanded to house an art museum. The museum will serve as Garden Day headquarters. Moreover, its galleries will showcase the works of Wanda Prillaman and others in an invitational exhibit named in her honor.

A vintage Rambler and an Airstream trailer will be parked outside. As at the Little Post Office and Piedmont Arts, vintage cars will be showcased at most tour sites. If Anglin were to walk back toward the Little Post Office, he would come 209 Starling. It was built in 1915 for the man who would one day use Anglin’s post office for his personal office. On Garden Day, the house will be open. Moreover, the Janice Cain fashion truck and the Hamlet Vineyards wine truck will be parked in the driveway that runs between the Simmons house and the Little Post Office. Garden Day tourgoers might want to eat their lunch or drink a glass of wine while sitting on the wraparound porch of the Simmons House.

If Anglin were to keep walking down Starling and across Mulberry Road, he would come to First Baptist Church at 23 Starling. There, he could look inside at the faceted stained glass windows created by the artist Dr. Henry Lee Willett. His Philadelphia studios were among the first in the nation to fabricate faceted stained glass.

Anglin might see some ancient “artworks” next door at number 21 Starling, home of the Virginia Museum of Natural History. The state museum’s collections explore every aspect of the history of Virginia through its natural world. Historic inhabitants of that world included dinosaurs represented by skeletons in the Hall of Ancient Life just inside the front door.

Anglin would have known the nearby Historic Henry County Courthouse at 1 East Main Street. The building that dates to 1824 would still have been in use as a court and the center of life in Martinsville and Henry County. Today, the courthouse houses the Martinsville-Henry County Heritage Center & Museum, thanks to the M-HC Historical Society.

And thanks to the Garden Club of Virginia, the grounds of the historic courthouse have been restored. That work, along with restoration of historic gardens and landscapes around the state, such as Mount Vernon and the University of Virginia, have been funded by proceeds from past garden day tours around the state.

Right across Jones Street from the courthouse stands the Knights of Pythias building. It’s unlikely that Anglin would have known that building though, as it was built in 1922 and Anglin had sold his star route and property here in order to move to Oklahoma.

The Pythians Building once housed retail space on its first floor, a dance hall and offices on its second floor, and the Pythians’ meeting space on the third floor. Its second floor has been renovated and now houses the King Uptown loft.

The old offices have been converted to showcase the family’s museum-worthy collections of art and artifacts from the American West and more. Art includes works by George Catlin, who specialized in portraits of Native Americans of the Old West, and paintings from the Hudson River Valley School. The former dance hall now houses the Kings’ living space.

The Garden Day tour features another home: “Chellowe,” at 1119 Knollwood Place. The back-facing Georgian Colonial river house was originally designed by architect William W. Patterson of Danville, and built for Thomas N. Barbour and his family beginning in 1956 on three acres at the corner of Knollwood Place and River Forest Place. North Carolina landscape architect Robert G. Campbell designed the landscape, which remains intact. Penn family portraits are featured prominently throughout the house, while family antiques grace most of the home’s rooms. The upstairs porch overlooks the garden.

Back near the center of town just down Fayette Street at number 211 stands the Fayette Area Historical Initiative African American Museum and Cultural. FAHI is the go-to source for information, photos, artifacts and oral histories that tell the story of African American life and accomplishments in Martinsville and Henry County. On Garden Day, it will feature an exhibit of photographs of the historic churches that formed the heart and soul of life in the African American community.

And should anyone, even the returned Anglin, want to know more about modern day Martinsville and Henry County, he or she could stop in at the Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center at 191 Fayette.

Every tour stop will feature special flower arrangements. “Imagine a work of art brought to life by flowers,” said Cindy Edgerton, the Garden Day tour chair. “There will be flower arrangements at the tour sites that interpret works of art – from paintings to cars. “The interpretation might re-create the whole piece, incorporating its colors, design, shape and style. Or the arrangement might focus on one of those elements.”

One would hope that if Anglin were to return, he would enjoy it.

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What: Martinsville-Henry County Garden Day
When: Wednesday, April 26, 2017 Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Headquarters: Piedmont Arts Association, 215 Starling Ave., Martinsville, VA
Tickets: $15 pp. for advance tickets; $20 pp. for tickets sold on tour day. $10 pp. for children ages 6 to 12. Available on tour day at the tour headquarters and tour homes. Proceeds benefit restoration projects of the Garden Club of Virginia.
Advance Tickets: Available online at www.vagardenweek.org. After January 15, at Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center, Piedmont Arts Association, and Patrick County Chamber of Commerce.
Facebook: Historic Garden Week in Martinsville and Henry County
Instagram: Historic Garden Week in MHC
Sponsors: The Martinsville Garden Club, The Garden Study Club and the Garden Club of Virginia