Baywood, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Baywood is an unincorporated community
in Grayson County
, in the southwestern part
of the U.S. state
of Virginia
.
Baywood was known as Hampton Crossroads until a post office was established there in 1903. Mail was often mixed up with mail meant for Hampton's Roads, and as a result, Hampton Crossroads became known as Baywood. Arch Moore, postmaster, named the community Baywood after a tree growing in the area called the Bay Tree. After 1937, the Baywood post office was closed and mail services transferred to the Galax post office.
The first 'board and telephone system' was installed for the community in 1909. This service was transferred to Inter-Mountain Telephone in 1957.
The first school built in the community was a wooden structure with four classrooms on the first floor and an auditorium on the second floor. This school opened in the fall of 1913. This school was replaced by the current school in 1953.
Church are featured on the 1978 LP Children of the Heav'nly King: Religious Expression in the Central Blue Ridge (recordings from the Blue Ridge Parkway
Folklife Project conducted by the American Folklife Center
in cooperation with the National Park Service
, ed. Charles K. Wolfe), singing the hymn "Children of the Heav'nly King."
The old-time
banjo
player Haywood Blevins was recorded at Baywood by Peter Hoover on August 25, 1961, and the banjo player James Spencer Caudill was recorded at his home in Baywood by Blanton Owen on March 21, 1974; both of these recordings are housed at the Library of Congress
's Archive of Folk Culture
.http://www.loc.gov/folklife/guides/Banjo.html
History Reference: Baywood, Published in 1990 by the Gazette Press, Inc., Galax, Va
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Grayson County
Grayson County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,917 people, 7,259 households, and 5,088 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile . There were 9,123 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
, in the southwestern part
Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
History
Baywood was established as a hub community, roughly embracing the area from Meadow Creek, Edmonds, NC, Little River and New River. The area was settled in the late 18th century by several families with land grants from the revolutionary war. The nearest town was Fries, VA until Galax, VA was established in 1905.Baywood was known as Hampton Crossroads until a post office was established there in 1903. Mail was often mixed up with mail meant for Hampton's Roads, and as a result, Hampton Crossroads became known as Baywood. Arch Moore, postmaster, named the community Baywood after a tree growing in the area called the Bay Tree. After 1937, the Baywood post office was closed and mail services transferred to the Galax post office.
The first 'board and telephone system' was installed for the community in 1909. This service was transferred to Inter-Mountain Telephone in 1957.
The first school built in the community was a wooden structure with four classrooms on the first floor and an auditorium on the second floor. This school opened in the fall of 1913. This school was replaced by the current school in 1953.
Culture
The singers of the Cross Roads Primitive BaptistPrimitive Baptist
Primitive Baptists, also known as Hard Shell Baptists or Anti-Mission Baptists, are conservative, Calvinist Baptists adhering to beliefs that formed out of the controversy among Baptists in the early 1800’s over the appropriateness of mission boards, bible tract societies, and temperance...
Church are featured on the 1978 LP Children of the Heav'nly King: Religious Expression in the Central Blue Ridge (recordings from the Blue Ridge Parkway
Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a National Parkway and All-American Road in the United States, noted for its scenic beauty. It runs for 469 miles , mostly along the famous Blue Ridge, a major mountain chain that is part of the Appalachian Mountains...
Folklife Project conducted by the American Folklife Center
American Folklife Center
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife" . The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the Library in 1928 as a repository for American folk music...
in cooperation with the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, ed. Charles K. Wolfe), singing the hymn "Children of the Heav'nly King."
The old-time
Old-time music
Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...
banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player Haywood Blevins was recorded at Baywood by Peter Hoover on August 25, 1961, and the banjo player James Spencer Caudill was recorded at his home in Baywood by Blanton Owen on March 21, 1974; both of these recordings are housed at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
's Archive of Folk Culture
Archive of Folk Culture
The Archive of Folk Culture was founded at the U.S. Library of Congress in 1928 as a repository for American folk music. The Archive of Folk Culture became part of the American Folklife Center in 1978...
.http://www.loc.gov/folklife/guides/Banjo.html
External links
History Reference: Baywood, Published in 1990 by the Gazette Press, Inc., Galax, Va