Southside Virginia Heritage Days in Dinwiddie County
Petersburg Area Regional Tourism
Posted Date: 3/22/2010

Southside Virginia Heritage Days
Dinwiddie County
March 27th & 28th


The 14th Annual Southside Virginia Heritage Days in Dinwiddie County has added a variety of new exhibitors and living history demonstrators this year in order to give a more rounded and accurate picture of what life was like in Southside Virginia before and during the American Civil War. The event takes place Saturday, March 27th, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, March 28th, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

Heritage Days commemorates the anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Sutherland Station that took place at the site on April 2, 1865. It will feature 18tth- and 19th-century civilian and military living history demonstrations, as well as tours of the 1803 plantation house Sutherland's Tavern, also known as Fork Inn, which sits on the site.

Participants this year include members of the 46th Virginia Infantry, Company C 9th Virginia and Poague's Battery, who will be bringing a Mountain Howitzer, a 24-lb bronze Coehorn mortar and a 12-lb steel Coehorn mortar. They will be joined by other reenactor groups, both Confederate and Union, including the 20th Maine Infantry. Several times throughout both days there will be artillery firings and battle demonstrations.

This family-oriented educational event was started 14 years ago by Darrell Olgers, owner and resident of Fork Inn, in an effort to educate visitors about early and mid 19th-century life.

"It's hard for us today to understand what our ancestors-not that long ago-had to endure before, during and after the Civil War," Olgers said. "Heritage Days gives families a peak into what life was like for the soldiers and civilians, blacks and whites, Northerners and Southerners that lived or passed through our region during this time."

At the center of the event is Historic Fork Inn, or Sutherland's Tavern, as it was known during its early years. This 1803-plantation home has been restored to serve as a showcase of early 19th-century life. The 14-room house and original outbuildings served as a 19th-century inn and tavern, a Union army hospital and one of Southside Virginia's first post offices. The plantation was also the unwitting site of the April 2, 1865 Battle of Sutherland Station, the last organized battle of the Siege of Petersburg. Today, Fork Inn is the home of Darrell, Michelle and Emma Olgers. The house is furnished with a large and diverse collection of late 18th- and early 19th-century furnishings that one would expect to find in a Virginia plantation home. The collection ranges from a large variety of early clocks, including several Virginia examples, as well as coin silver, early lighting, paintings, a collection of pocket watches with examples dating from the 1780's through the 1940's and a collection of Civil War artifacts and weapons from the Battle of Sutherland Station. Many artifacts on display have been donated from families in the Petersburg and Dinwiddie area and have a rich local history associated with them.

New to the collection this year will be a Virginia cellarette as used in prominent early homes for the storage of wine. This rare piece spent most of its life at Caryswood Plantation in Buckingham County and will be joined by a Boyle and Gamble saber form Confederate bayonet and other important artifacts and furnishings.

"Unlike many house tours that hold little interest for younger children, the Fork Inn tour is filled with ghost stories, wooden legs, tales of tavern brawls and evidence of bullet holes, which especially engage school age children," said Olgers' wife, Michelle, who now helps organize and promote the annual event. "The taste and smells of the 19th-century recipes made by costumed interpreters in the house's old kitchen help make the history really come alive for visitors of all ages."

Returning this year will be one of last year's most popular exhibits, a photographic display presented by Bridgewater Paranormal Investigators of possible ghosts and spirits that live at Fork Inn. Led by Dinwiddie County resident Jimmy Simmons, the group uses modern techniques and scientific equipment to help determine the presence of the supernatural.

This year's highlights include:

* Guided tours of Fork Inn every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour
* Exhibit of "ghost" photographs taken at Fork Inn
* Exhibit of period clothing worn by signer George Read of Delaware
* Howitzer, Coehorn mortars and other artillery exhibits
* Open hearth cooking demonstrations
* A moonshine-making & stone building construction exhibits
* Farm animals
* Children's games and family oriented exhibits
* Program detailing the types of soldier aid provided by civilians, presented by The Maine Camp Hospital Association. These types of organizations are the ancestors of today's American Red Cross and Salvation Army.
* Blacksmithing & woodworking demonstration
* The 20th Maine Infantry, Company C 9th Virginia, Poague's Battery, 46th Virginia Infantry and other Civil War military reenactors will provide drilling & firing demonstrations, plus encampments
* Photo opportunities in period costumes
* Children's story telling will be provided by legendary storyteller Jimmy Olgers
* Richard A. Stewart, the honorary Mayor of Pocahontas Island and master storyteller, will be recounting stories of the life of slaves before and during the Civil War on Saturday only
* Food and baked goods will be provided by Corinth and Trinity United Methodist churches of Dinwiddie County.

Historic Fork Inn is located at 19621 Namozine Rd Sutherland, VA 23885, 10 minutes west of Petersburg at the intersection of U.S. Rt. 460 and Rt. 708 (Namozine Road) in Dinwiddie County. From Richmond or Petersburg, take I-95 South to I-85 South to Exit 61. Turn right onto U.S. Rt. 460 West, drive 4 miles and turn right on Route 708 (immediately past the Texaco gas station). Historic Fork Inn is on your left. Ample, free parking is available.

For more information on Southside Virginia Heritage Days, call (804) 304-4200 or email circa1803@hotmail.com