Liberty University, in partnership with Friends of New London, hosted New London Days Oct. 18 and 19 to inform the public of the historic sites at Alum Springs Road.
Sites including Mead’s Tavern, Bedford Alum Springs Hotel and the African-American Methodist Church were open for the public with tours led by Liberty students and volunteers. The students who gave the tours had been researching and creating their section of the tour for the whole semester as a project for their Public History class. Other students also volunteered at the event.
“Our students are, in a way, serving this local historical society and the community,” Donna Davis Donald, Liberty’s director of public history initiatives, said.
Mead’s Tavern is the oldest standing structure in Central Virginia. Visitors were able to go inside to the partially excavated building and see a few rooms. Each room had a student who explained the history of the building by showing the visitors particular archaeological discoveries and artifacts discovered in the building.
The building was used for many purposes over the years including a tavern, an all-girls school, medical practice and an insurance office, among other uses. Because it has changed over the years, student guides pointed out the different building materials showing the renovations and the artifacts that have been discovered, like sewing and school supplies as well as broken glass bottles.
“It was really interesting to hear about the archeological discoveries that have been made at the site and how researchers have been able to use those to paint a fuller picture of how the building has been used,” sophomore Kaeley Whitacre, an attendee of the event, said.
Once guests left the tavern, a table was set up where students informed guests about the courthouse that once stood next to the tavern but has now become private property. This was a new table set up for this year.
Photo by Luci Ellis
At another part of Alum Springs Road, visitors were able to step inside the Bedford Alum Springs Hotel, which is a hotel from the early 20th century. Visitors could walk around and look at a few of the rooms on the first floor. At the entrance, students described the history of the hotel to the visitors passing by.
Additionally, two interior design students created a 3D rendering of what the upstairs might have looked like based on research of the design during that time frame. The video was displayed on a TV screen at the information table.
Outside the hotel, students were stationed at an excavation site, which was originally a Revolutionary War arsenal. Students shared the historical significance, led tours and answered questions from the guests.
Across the street from the hotel, Revolutionary War reenactors were dressed in period clothing. They talked to guests about what it would have been like to live in that time and showed replicas of historical household items that people would have used during that time period.
The African-American Methodist Church had artifacts and replicas displayed from when the church was open. In the morning, a reenacted service was held in the church.
Some other activities of the day included a scavenger hunt and coloring for the children, tables from other historic sites and organizations and a petting zoo.
“All students, not just history students, can be involved in our public history projects,” Donald said.
Students are encouraged to be involved with these projects. Recently, Mead’s Tavern in New London has been added to the On Demand Ride system so all students can have access to the site.
To learn more about the New London projects, visit www.liberty.edu/arts-sciences/history/new-london/projects.
Twitchell is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion.