Marking the past in Virginia

Richard Harrison staked out signs noting the Barter Theatre, Bristol, Benge's Gap, Wytheville Training School and the Stonewall Jackson Female Institute.

He rolled to Russell County, Va., to photograph a historic marker detailing the Elk Garden Fort.

And he made his way to Marion, Va., to capture the marker explaining the life story of short-story writer Sherwood Anderson.

All of which was part of Harrison's mammoth project to photograph every historic marker in Virginia.

The result is a nine-volume book collection of "Virginia Marker History," all priced at $29.95 and showing more than 2,000 of the state's historic markers depicted in color.

"The whole point of the guide is that unless you’re willing to pull over or sit in front of a computer screen, there’s not a medium to really enjoy them," Harrison said.

Harrison, 48, of Fredericksburg, Va., has been a businessman for two decades, selling online research to attorneys.

He launched his marker project a couple of years ago, ultimately driving about 37,000 miles, all in an effort to prove to his children – ages 11, 14 and 16 – how you can start a small business.

That small business has turned out to be publishing, as Harrison now prints his own "Virginia Marker History" books, some at just 10 at a time, using his own binding machinery.

'History buff'

A New Jersey native, Harrison moved to the Old Dominion in 1983 to attend the University of Richmond.

"I’m a history buff," he said.

And, yes, he owns editions of the state guides to historic markers. The latest version, "A Guidebook to Virginia's Historical Markers: Third Edition," was compiled by Scott David Arnold and published in 2007 by the University of Virginia Press.

"The state book has been a good guide," Harrison said.

But it does not show you where the markers are with photographs, Harrison said.

"To see them in context is probably as important," Harrison said. "The visual is important for so many people."

Defining Southwest Virginia

    Harrison defined Southwest Virginia in his "Volume IX: Southwest Region" book to include all counties southwest of Montgomery, Floyd and Giles counties.

    "Once you go up in Montgomery," Harrison said, "that’s where southwest begins."

Yet he also tacked on Patrick and Henry counties, saying, "It’s to appeal to people in the way that they view themselves, in terms of breaking up the region. I used Patrick and Henry counties in both the Southwest and the Southside region books."

In the course of research, Harrison said, he found some people calling those counties "Southwest" and others "Southside."

In all, Southwest Virginia became Harrison's favorite place to scout markers.

"In my mind, it's the most beautiful part of the state in the summer, with the mist and the fog in the lower valleys," Harrison said. "You can’t find better natural beauty anywhere."

'Field survey'

Before heading out to the field, Harrison tried to pinpoint actual locations of historic markers.

Then, he said, "I did a complete field survey of every marker that I could find records of."

But, sometimes, he would not find what he was looking for.

"The most common reason a marker was missing was it was down for refurbishment," Harrison said. "And sometimes you think it’s missing and it’s really not missing. It just hasn’t been up for years, and the state doesn’t know it."

But Harrison photographed all that he could find to create these picture books.

Laughing, he added, "It’s a trick history book, because how many picture books do you actually read?"

Jtennis@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0704

YOU SHOULD KNOW

» "Virginia Marker History" is available at www.markerhistory.com