The Jones House, an Italionate mansion, was built in 1854 by Albert Carroll Jones. It is furnished and open to the public at times. It remained in his family until 1918 when Victor W. Stewart bought it. Upon his death his widow gave the property to the Commonwealth of Virginia to assure its use for the benefit of all of its citizens.

The park, houses, campgrounds and cabins are managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of State Parks. The Chippokes Farm and Forestry Museum is managed by the Chippokes Plantation Farm Foundation. Attached to our newsletter is a report on the Foundation's museum and its work. What a wonderful gift, what a treasure, what a great historical asset of Surry County!

Amendment to the April newsletter: We included the 1898 report of Confederate veterans living in Surry County at that time. It was reported in its entirety. However, we soon found that they missed one veteran when the report was written. Lyda Scarborough Burge, a Society member, notified us that her father's name was not in the report. Yes, her father, Benjamin Thomas Scarborough, not her grandfather, joined Company "D" 10th Va. battalion, Brandons Heavy Artillery, late in the war when he was little more than a child. After the war he married and raised a family of seven children. When he was 50 years old his wife died, and he remarried and raised another family of four girls, including Lyda. We are happy to correct this report 101 years after it was written. Are there any other corrections?

The Meriwether Society Inc.: These are the descendants of Nicholas Meriwether [1631 - 1678] an early Surry County settler. The Meriwether Society had its biennial meeting in Williamsburg, Va. in June. On June 19,1999 they came to Surry County for a tour of their early land holdings. Dennis Hudgins and your president served as guides. We supplied them with copies of land patents and plats of their lands. What a bunch came! There were three tour busses full as we visited the Spratley farm near Dendron, the Glebe on Rt. 10 and Four Mile Tree. I am sure many citizens wondered what was going on when they saw this caravan wind through the country roads of Surry County.

This is a very active family society. Meriwether Lewis who led the first expedition to the West Coast came from its roots. Many of the Meriwether Society members have joined our Society. Welcome!

Pork, Peanut and Pine Festival at Chippokes State Park: The Society had a booth again this year, in conjunction with The Dendron Historical Society. Visitation was good, and a number of new members will be added through this event. We also added some new knowledge about the county's history. Jerusalem Baptist Church started with a meeting in the home of Mondoza Bailey in 1867. We learned from descendants visiting Chippokes the location of his home. It still exists. Bailey was a carpenter, and built the church with help of others, including the Ellis family. The church was first named Mt. Joy, and we recently learned that the Freedmens Bureau started the first local black school in conjunction with the church.