In celebration of Charter Day on Wednesday, we are going to take a brief look at the history of how Bridgewater came to be. The first settlers in the area now known as Bridgewater arrived in the 1740’s and were of Scotch-Irish descent. They were soon followed by German settlers. The area became known as... Continue Reading →
The Bridgewater Historical Society (BHS) is located in the Old Town Hall at 109 South Main Street. They will have a spring open house on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You can read more about that and other upcoming events in their Spring Newsletter. Also, you can... Continue Reading →
Local chainsaw and custom-carving artist Sean Hanifee and his youngest son Brenan have created commemorative planks made from fallen limbs off Bridgewater’s Old Oak Tree. There is a very limited number of these commemorative planks for sale. Your choice of planks may be purchased for $200 each with the Bridgewater town seal or the Old Oak... Continue Reading →
On August 3, 1973, three Bridgewater residents--Ed Keyton, Flora Helmick, and her sister Martha Helmick--left town for a family reunion in Dabolt, Kentucky. The trio departed in Mr. Keyton's 1967 Ford Fairlane. After a short stop in Monterey...the trio was never seen again. Theories were tossed around over the years about their disappearance. Did they... Continue Reading →
Occasionally, we have citizens who bring us old artifacts from Bridgewater's past. Quite often, they are photographs, much like the one you see above that we received last week. We don't really know much about the subject of the photo, other than it features a wagon with "Bridgewater Mfg. Co." painted on the side. Based... Continue Reading →
Today is Rockingham Cooperative Day! At our last Council meeting, we adopted the proclamation shown above in honor of Rockingham Cooperative’s 100th anniversary of its formation. The Bridgewater branch of Rockingham Cooperative was established on July 5, 1927. Their current building opened in 1938, followed by a feed building on Depot Road in 1950.... Continue Reading →
Today is Bridgewater’s Charter Day! Bridgewater began as a small settlement by William Magill along the North River in 1746, a place that became known as Magill’s Ford and later Bridgeport. On February 7, 1835, the Virginia General Assembly and Governor Littleton Waller Tazewell incorporated this community as Bridgewater. From that original 20 acre parcel... Continue Reading →