1750 Chilhowie: A Story of Exploration and Settlement by Eric Johnson at Chilhowie Library

Join us at Chilhowie Public Library on Saturday, October 3rd at 11:00am for a VA250–themed presentation by Eric John of the Library of Virginia – 1750 Chilhowie: A Story of Exploration and Settlement.

The years around 1750 were very important to the establishment of the community that would one day become Chilhowie. Dr. Thomas Walker, explorer of Kentucky, helped Samuel Stalnaker raise “the westernmost colonial cabin” there. Around that time, Col. James Patton is credited with building the Town House whose remains are still visible today. Settlers and hunters came up the Shenandoah Valley.  Join Library of Virginia historian Eric Johnson for an engaging history talk rooted in maps, records, and stories of the people who put down roots in this area.

Eric Johnson is the coordinator of the VA250-funded Ideas in Action project at the Library of Virginia, focused on bringing Revolutionary-era documents and the stories they tell back to the communities from which they came. Prior to joining the Library of Virginia, Eric served for twelve years as head of the multimedia center and makerspace at Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries. Trained in public history and the digital humanities, he has also worked at the Scholars’ Lab at the University of Virginia Library, Monticello, the University of Richmond, and the Smithsonian. Eric holds master’s degrees in American history from George Mason University, library and information studies from Florida State University, and cartography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Farthest West, 1750 Marker