About the Lynchburg Historical Foundation
The Lynchburg Historical Foundation (LHF) was created on November 13, 1972, when two older groups merged: the Lynchburg Historical Society, dating from 1934, and the Historic Lynchburg Foundation, formed in 1967. The society's own origin was a rescue. In 1936 the Miller-Claytor House, built in 1791 by tavern keeper John Miller at 8th and Church Streets, was about to be demolished; it was taken down piece by piece and rebuilt that year at the entrance to Riverside Park, and the foundation credits that fight with the creation of the Lynchburg Historical Society. The house, the last 18th-century home in Lynchburg, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and restored by LHF to its original colors and appearance in 2004. The foundation still maintains it and rents it for small gatherings.
Today LHF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with an executive director and a volunteer board. Its three-part mission is to undertake special projects, including acquiring, restoring and preserving sites, buildings, documents and objects that tell the community's story; to promote the understanding of Lynchburg's history, architecture and culture through programs, exhibits, publications and events; and to encourage other organizations and individuals to do the same through partnerships.
Its second signature project is the Packet Boat Marshall, commissioned in 1861 to carry mail, freight and passengers on the James River and Kanawha Canal. The boat survived Hunter's Raid, carried the body of Stonewall Jackson from Lynchburg to Lexington for burial in 1863, and worked until 1880. Between 2003 and 2006 LHF conserved the iron hull and built a protective cover for it. The foundation has also helped with the clock and bell tower at the Lynchburg Museum, Presbyterian Cemetery, the Bragassa Toy Store, the John D. Owen Memorial Garden, the Rivermont Avenue Historic District and the Water Bearer statue, and each year it presents a Merit Award for outstanding preservation, restoration or rehabilitation of a historic building in the city; past winners include the Lynchburg National Bank building and 301 Cabell Street.
Collections and Research Services
LHF is a preservation organization rather than an archive, and its website does not list a reading room or research collection. What it does maintain is an Oral History Project that records and digitally preserves the recollections of long-time residents; the foundation asks anyone who knows a Lynchburg native with stories to tell to get in touch. Its Lynchburg History page offers a short timeline of the city, from John Lynch's 1757 ferry across the James through the 1786 recognition of Lynch's Ferry and the town's incorporation in 1805, and recommends standard references such as "Lynchburg: An Architectural History" by S. Allen Chambers Jr. For house research in the city's historic districts, our guides to finding out when a house was built and finding old photographs of a house or neighborhood explain which deed, directory and photo sources to check, and the foundation's Merit Award files are a good lead on buildings that have already been researched.
Planning Your Visit
The foundation's office is at 325 12th Street in downtown Lynchburg. It is a working office rather than a museum, so check lynchburghistoricalfoundation.org for current hours, event tickets and the Lynchburg 250 programming before stopping by, or use the site's contact form to arrange a visit to the Miller-Claytor House in Riverside Park. Membership and donations support the foundation's projects. About 70 miles northeast, Monticello near Charlottesville is the closest site in our directory; Jefferson's retreat at Poplar Forest lies just outside Lynchburg itself.
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