Status
The stand-along chimney monument was completed in September, 2017. A dedication ceremony attended by more than 100 people was held on October 29, 2017. Six interpretive display panels with pictures of homes, churches, schools, and typical family life on the mountains have been designed, printed, and are ready for installation. Two other vertical panels, one with a map of the Greene County area of the Park and the other displaying the BRHP narrative of the displacement, will
be located at the entrance to the memorial.
Installation of these eight panels is awaiting completion of site development for construction of a farmers market and bandstand in the same area. That development will include a concrete walkway leading up the grass slope to the memorial, with a sidewalk in front of the chimney outlining the perimeter of a typical mountain home. The panels will be installed when that work is completed, expected to be in November 2018. The Greene County Memorial will become the eastern gateway to the new Greene Commons park that will be opened in the spring, 2019.
Location
The memorial is located at the
corner of Celt Road and Main Street in the heart of Stanardsville, the county seat. It sits on county property adjacent to the County Administration Building, 40 Celt Rd.
Family Names
The committee conducted extensive research to determine as accurately as possible the surnames of the families in the Greene County area who were displaced from the mountains for creation of the Park. The plaque affixed to the chimney lists 69 names.
Information on the Memorial’s Stones
Information provided by Roger Powell:
*Present owners are Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Korfanty
*Previous owners were the Wilson Lamb family
*Historic owner who lived in the log house with this rock chimney was the Demarcus (“Marcus”, “Mark”) Lubin Haney family. The Haneys lived in the log house from before 1920 until moving into their new frame home. In 1943 he died. The log building was still intact in 1970, but due to structural problems and safety, it was taken down by Mr. Korfanty. A buyer purchased the logs to be reused in another building.
De
marcus L. Haney was listed in Greene Censuses, 1920, 1930,
and 1940 in the McMullen area. He had a family of about 10 children. His wife, Naomi Selena Dean Haney, was the daughter of Solomon Milton Dean, on whose property was started the Dean Cemetery on Skyline Drive. Both Haneys and some of their children are buried in the Stanardsville Community Cemetery. Larry Lamb, Darryl and Jackie Whidby, are the builders of the chimney.
Building of Greene’s Memorial
Images of the construction process. We want to thank stonemason, Darryl Whidby and his wife Jackie, along with Larry Lamb for their hard work and dedication to our monuments and history. Darryl has also built 4 other Memorials for the BRHP.
Committee
A Steering Committee led by Norm Addington met monthly for more than two years, until spring 2018, to plan the memorial, secure county approval for the location, design display panels depicting the story of family life in the mountains, and raise necessary funding. Other members of the committee are Larry E. Lamb, Jim Lawson, Jeanne Rexroad, Joann Powell, Roger Powell, Teresa Lam, and Roy Dye. Alan Yost and Bill Martin served as advisors representing the county.
The committee has been inactive for the past few months but will re-engage once the memorial site is ready for installation of the panels.
The committee meets in the Stanardsville Town Hall, 19 Celt Road, directly opposite the memorial. Chairman Norm Addington may be contacted at norm1394@embarqmail.com
Fundraising
The committee has raised nearly $20,000 to pay the costs of building the chimney, producing panel displays, and installing a bench. It received grants from the Perry Foundation ($5,00
0 matching grant in 2016) and the National Association of Realtors ($2,000 grant in 2017). Both grant applications were submitted by BRHP, as an eligible nonprofit organization, on behalf of the Greene Memorial Committee.
Other donors to the project include Greene County Tourism Council, the Town of Stanardsville, Shenandoah Park National Trust, Greene County Historical Society, several businesses and nonprofit groups, and more than 50 generous individuals.
Donations may be made payable to Greene County Memorial Project and mailed to Greene County Historical Society, P.O. Box 185, Stanardsville, VA 22973
Photo Gallery: Photos of Greene’s Past
Photos may not be reproduced without permission of the owner.