Franklin County, Virginia
Franklin County is located in the Blue Ridge foothills of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,477. Its county seat is Rocky Mount. Franklin County is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located in the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The Roanoke River forms its northeast boundary with Bedford County. History The Blue Ridge Foothills had long been inhabited by Native Americans. At the time of European encounter, mostly Siouan-speaking tribes lived in this area. A few colonists moved into the area before the American Revolutionary War, but most settlement happened afterward, as people moved west seeking new lands. Cultivation of tobacco had exhausted soils in the eastern part of the state. The county was formed in 1785 from parts of Bedford and Henry counties. It was named for Benjamin Franklin. The Piedmont and backcountry areas were largely settled by Scots-Irish, who were the last major immigrant group from th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading intellectuals of his time, Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a drafter and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the first United States Postmaster General. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his studies of electricity, and for charting and naming the current still known as the Gulf Stream. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among others. He founded many civic organizations, including the Library Company, Philadelphia's first fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania. Isaacson, 2004, p. Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Free People Of Color
In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who were primarily of black African descent with little mixture. They were a distinct group of free people of color in the French colonies, including Louisiana and in settlements on Caribbean islands, such as Saint-Domingue (Haiti), St. Lucia, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. In these territories and major cities, particularly New Orleans, and those cities held by the Spanish, a substantial third class of primarily mixed-race, free people developed. These colonial societies classified mixed-race people in a variety of ways, generally related to visible features and to the proportion of African ancestry. Racial classifications were numerous in Latin America. A freed Afr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Martinsville, Virginia
Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes. Martinsville is the principal city of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area, with a population of 73,346 as of the 2000 census. The paper clip-shaped Martinsville Speedway, the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series at and one of the first paved "speedways", is located just outside the city near the town of Ridgeway. History Martinsville was founded by American Revolutionary War General, Native American agent and explorer Joseph Martin, born in Albemarle County. He developed his plantation ''Scuffle Hill'' on the banks of the Smith River near the present-day southern city li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner John Lynch (1740–1820), John Lynch, the city's population was 79,009 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or the "Hill City". In the 1860s, Lynchburg was the only city in Virginia that was not recaptured by the Union (American Civil War), Union before the end of the American Civil War. Lynchburg lies at the center of a wider Lynchburg metropolitan area, metropolitan area close to the geographic center of Virginia. It is the fifth-largest Metropolitan statistical area, MSA in Virginia, with a population of 261,593. It is the site of several institutions of higher education, including Virginia University of Lynchburg, Randolph College, University of L ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Smith Mountain Lake
Smith Mountain Lake is a large reservoir in the Roanoke Region of Virginia, United States, located southeast of the City of Roanoke and southwest of Lynchburg. The lake was created in 1963 by the Smith Mountain Dam impounding the Roanoke River. The majority of the south shore of the lake lies in Franklin County while a small portion, including access to the dam, lies in Pittsylvania County. Bedford County makes up the northern half of the lake with the Roanoke River as the dividing line. The lake has become a popular recreation spot and has also experienced significant development in the last decade. It is the largest lake contained entirely within the Commonwealth of Virginia. History Initial proposals were made in the late 1920s to dam the Roanoke River and the Blackwater River at the Smith Mountain gorge to generate electricity. Construction on the Smith Mountain Dam began in 1960 and was completed in 1963. The lake reached its normal water level in March 1966. The lake ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lawless (film)
''Lawless'' is a 2012 American crime drama film directed by John Hillcoat. The screenplay, by Australian singer-screenwriter Nick Cave, is based on Matt Bondurant's historical novel ''The Wettest County in the World'' (2008). The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, and Guy Pearce. The film is about the violent conflict between three bootlegging brothers: Forrest (Hardy), Howard (Clarke), and Jack Bondurant (LaBeouf) — and the ruthless lawman Charley Rakes (Pearce), who tries to shut down the brothers' Prohibition-era moonshine business after Forrest refuses to pay him off. The film was in development for about three years before being produced. It screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and was theatrically released on August 29, 2012. Plot In 1931, the Bondurant brothers — middle brother Forrest, eldest brother Howard, and youngest brother Jack — are running a successful moonshine business in Franklin Coun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Wettest County In The World
''The Wettest County in the World'' is a 2008 historical novel by Matt Bondurant, an American writer who features his grandfather Jack and grand-uncles Forrest and Howard as the main characters in the novel. The book tells of the trio during the Depression and Prohibition in rural Virginia, who made a living bootlegging moonshine. The novel is told from both the perspectives of the three Bondurant brothers, mainly focusing on the youngest, Jack, and of the writer Sherwood Anderson, who described Franklin County in that period as the "wettest county in the world" while working there as a journalist during Prohibition. The film '' Lawless'' (2012), directed by John Hillcoat, is based on the book with a screenplay by Nick Cave. Background The novel, inspired by the author's paternal grandfather Jack and two grand-uncles, Forrest and Howard, focuses on the historical events of the Great Franklin County Moonshine Conspiracy, a series of events and a trial related to the illegal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Matt Bondurant
Matt Bondurant, born in 1971, is an American novelist. Among his works are the books ''The Third Translation'', ''The Wettest County in the World'' and ''The Night Swimmer''. Life and career Bondurant was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia near Washington, DC. His family's ancestral home was in Franklin County, Virginia. He graduated with a B.A. and M.A. in English from James Madison University, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. Matt went on to earn a PhD in English at Florida State University in 2003. Matt Bondurant’s latest novel Oleander City, was released in June of 2022. Oleander is his second novel based on a true story, concerning events surrounding the 1900 Galveston Hurricane, including the tragedy of the St. Mary's Orphanage and a boxing match between a young Jack Johnson, a Galveston native, and "Chrysanthemum Joe" Choynski, who many consider the greatest Jewish boxer of all time. His third book The Night Swimmer was published by Scribner in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial Of 1935
The Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935 resulted in the indictment of 80 people involved in the illegal production and distribution of moonshine whisky in Virginia. At the time, Franklin County was believed to produce the highest volume of illegal liquor in the U.S., colloquially referred to as "the moonshine capital of the world." From 1928-1935, prosecutors alleged that a conspiracy ring had defrauded the government out of 5.5 million dollars in whisky excise taxes, equivalent to roughly 95 million dollars today. The case is the second longest in Virginia’s history and eventually resulted in 20 convictions, including several officers of the law and government officials. Description The alleged conspiracy was uncovered by federal agent Colonel Thomas Bailey, who after distinguishing himself as a hero in World War I, became an undercover agent for the federal government. Posing as a small-scale moonshine buyer, Bailey went undercover in Franklin County beginning in 1934. Un ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sherwood Anderson
Sherwood Anderson (September 13, 1876 – March 8, 1941) was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and Elyria, Ohio. In 1912, Anderson had a nervous breakdown that led him to abandon his business and family to become a writer. At the time, he moved to Chicago and was eventually married three additional times. His most enduring work is the short-story sequence ''Winesburg, Ohio,'' which launched his career. Throughout the 1920s, Anderson published several short story collections, novels, memoirs, books of essays, and a book of poetry. Though his books sold reasonably well, '' Dark Laughter'' (1925), a novel inspired by Anderson's time in New Orleans during the 1920s, was his only bestseller. Early life Sherwood Berton Anderson was born on September 13, 1876, at 142 S. Lafayette Street in Camden, Ohio, a farming town with a population of ar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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History (U
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers. History is not complete and still has debatable mysteries. History is also an academic discipline which uses narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cause and effect. Historians often debate which narrative best explains an event, as well as the significance of different causes and effects. Historians also debate the nature of history as an end in itself, as well as its usefulness to give perspective on the problems of the p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Story Of Us
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story of Us, The ...
The Story of Us may refer to: * ''The Story of Us'' (film), 1999 U.S. film * "The Story of Us" (song), 2010 song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift * ''The Story of Us'' (TV series), 2016 Filipino television series *'' America: The Story of Us'', 2010 U.S. documentary-drama television miniseries *'' Australia: The Story of Us'', 2015 Australian documentary-drama television miniseries * '' Canada: The Story of Us'', 2017 Canadian documentary-drama television miniseries * ''The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman'', 2017 documentary television series *"The Story of Us", song by Charlotte Church from ''Back to Scratch'' *"The Story of Us", an album by Quinn XCII Mikael Temrowski (born May 6, 1992), known by his stage name Quinn XCII (pronounced "Quinn ninety-two"), is an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He began his career in 2011 when he started writing and recording his own music as a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |