Greene County Historical Society News

Submitted by Joann Powell
Published: August 7, 2008

There are some new exhibits at our local museum on Court Square. One is a copy of the Act for establishing Stanardsville December 19, 1794.
Around 1727, the Octonia Grant consisting of 25,000 acres extending through Orange County and 6,000 acres in Greene County, was held by eight men. Eventually, the 6,000 acres in Greene County passed down to William Standard. In 1794, he succeeded in having the Virginia General Assembly pass an Act that created Stanardsville as an unincorporated town composed of 45 acres divided into half-acre lots.
There are three original copies of this Act that exists. It was written on vellum which could be either sheep or calfskin. Over time they have faded and become warped.
Robert B. Miller, a fourth great-grandson of Robert Miller who signed the original Act, had a copy made and framed. He and his son, Robert B. Miller, Jr., presented it to the Society at the March Annual Dinner meeting. It is now proudly displayed in the museum.
Also new to the museum is a World War I display of articles belonging to the late Clyde Monroe Sims. Mr. Sims was born in Ruckersville April 10, 1896. The display is on permanent loan to us by his nephew Benjamin L. Sims, III. It is a collection of more than 40 items pertaining to Clyde Monroe Sims WWI service in France. This exhibit is well worth seeing.
We will have a booth at the Greene County Fair Aug. 12-16. You are invited to visit us at the large tent and we will be happy to discuss historical information you might know about our county. Our genealogist, Eugene Powell, will be available for those seeking family information.
A delightful canvas picture has been donated to us by member Elaine Barnett. This picture is of the old Swift Run polling place located at Amicus crossroads. The canvas is suitable for framing. For a small donation, you could win this historical picture. The building was the voting place for Swift Run Precinct, Monroe District for many years, and though old and weathered, it still sits in the corner of the crossroads. It closed around 1970. 
See you at the fair.