History lovers might be interested to know about some ''possible'' undiscovered sites in Montgomery County.
A few weeks ago, this reporter was out on a completely different story, and ran into someone who said they'd heard there could be several slave quarters, buried in front of Smithfield.
Local historians say as many as 42 slaves may have once lived on the property known as Smithfield Plantation. A handful it's believed, lived in the mainhouse, but most lived in the front portion of the property that sits just off I-460.
This is video of what was a slave home, was moved to Smithfield years ago, and is open to the public.
I'm told the land in front of Smithfield Plantation, where the slave quarters are believed to be buried, that land, now belongs to Virginia Tech.
Smithfield says it wants to do a formal survey, but in this economy, it doesn't have the money.
There's a huge Oak tree on that same flat land that's several hundred years old. One historian says that's not just a tree, it's what was known as a "Merriment tree" or a "Merry tree." After a long days work, slaves would gather round the tree and relax. And they lived in as many as six slave quarters or homes, right next to that tree.
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A few weeks ago, this reporter was out on a completely different story, and ran into someone who said they'd heard there could be several slave quarters, buried in front of Smithfield.
Local historians say as many as 42 slaves may have once lived on the property known as Smithfield Plantation. A handful it's believed, lived in the mainhouse, but most lived in the front portion of the property that sits just off I-460.
This is video of what was a slave home, was moved to Smithfield years ago, and is open to the public.
I'm told the land in front of Smithfield Plantation, where the slave quarters are believed to be buried, that land, now belongs to Virginia Tech.
Smithfield says it wants to do a formal survey, but in this economy, it doesn't have the money.
There's a huge Oak tree on that same flat land that's several hundred years old. One historian says that's not just a tree, it's what was known as a "Merriment tree" or a "Merry tree." After a long days work, slaves would gather round the tree and relax. And they lived in as many as six slave quarters or homes, right next to that tree.
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