Mackler Historic Tour - West Radford
The West Radford Tour has twenty-three (23) stops. Each stop is marked on the map by a number. A full description of each stop is shown below with the corresponding number. You can easily use this map in two ways:
- You can view the map to locate a stop and then click the blue dot to read the description for that tour stop.
- You can read the descriptions and then view the map to see where that tour stop is located on the map.
Tour Stops for the West RadfordTour (as shown on the above map)
Grave of Dr. John Blair Radford (31)
Located behind the home at 403 Walker Street, it is accessible through the alley to the left of the house. The family plot of the Radford family contains the graves of many family members including Dr. Radford and General Wharton.
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Arnheim (32)
Started in 1836 and completed in 1838, this was the home of Dr. John Blair Radford. Clay for the bricks was taken from the land where the high school now stands. The nails, of antique design, were hand wrought.
During the War-Between-the-States, the house was shelled by Federal troops who thought it was headquarters for the Confederate forces. In this home, the first Episcopal services in Radford were held.
In 1936, the school board purchased the building to house Radford High School's Home Economics Department.
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Cannon (33)
This cannon was used by the French in World War I and later by the Radford Ammunition plant to test gunpowder. It was given to Radford's American Legion Post 30 in 1946.
Indian Village (34)
Complete with stockade, cooking pits and burial sites, this Indian village was excavated in 1974 and 1975. A portion of the artifacts removed from this site are stored in the Municipal Building, and the remainder are located at the Virginia Landmarks Commission's Yorktown facilities.
West End Flour Mill (35)
Located on the corner of Walker Street and Norwood at the site of the present Family Dollar Store, the mill was built in 1906 by Jim Zull. It was operated as a mill until 1932. After that date the building was used only as a feed store. The site was sold and became the location of the first Kroger store in Radford.
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West End Train Station (36)
Located at the foot of Randolph Street in the level area behind the First Street Pharmacy, this stone passenger station was built in 1889-90 and remained in use until 1931. The remnant of the path used by guests walking from the station to the Delp Hotel extended diagonally from the station to the Hotel entrance.
The station was torn down in 1938. The stone from the station was purchased by Grace Thomas, Radford's most famous confectioner, and founder of Radford's Girl Scout Troop, for her home. The Thomas house was built on the Pulaski side of the New River at the corner of Route 11 and Fairlawn Road. Fragments of stone are still present at the station site.
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Christ Lutheran Church (37)
Located on the northeast corner of Harvey and Second Streets, the cornerstone of the present church was laid in 1911. The congregation was formed in March of 1891 with 21 members, and the first building, located on Fairfax Street, was dedicated in August of 1895.
The original building, sold to the First Baptist Church, later became part of the Radford University campus.The cost of the plans for the present building was $10.00, and the total cost of the church, including building, fencing, grading and furnishings, was $3781.
The windows are uniquely beautiful. They were designed and fabricated in Munich, Germany and installed in 1920.
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Delp Hotel (38)
Located in Radford's West End, this hotel served rail travelers from the turn of the century until the l930's. Traces of the path leading from the West End Train Station to the hotel entrance are still visible.
Radford Inn (39)
Located in the open parking area across from the C & P Telephone office, this beautiful inn was built by the N&W railroad. It was destroyed by fire on March 16, 1893.
Presbyterian Church of Radford (40)
Located on the corner of Fourth and Randolph streets, this church was occupied in 1894. The Radford Presbyterian Church had its beginning in 1874 as the New River Church with nine members. The manse was built across the street from the church in 1908, and the Sunday School addition was built in 1927.
The beautiful stained glass windows, made by William Coulter and Sons of Cincinnati, were installed in 1894.
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Grace Episcopal Church (41)
Located on the corner of Fourth and Harvey Streets, the rectory was built in 1890. The first services were conducted in 1857 at Arnheim, the home of Dr. John Blair Radford. (see Arnheim above), by Rev. Frederick D. Goodwin. In 1892 W.J. Kenderdine drew the plans for Grace Chapel, and on May 8, 1892 the first service was held at Grace Church. The beautiful stained glass windows were executed by Franz Mayer and three of the windows (portraying "In the Garden", "The Annunciation", and "The Transfiguration"), are signed by the artist. Mayer used the likeness of Vladimir Lenin, the Russian revolutionary, as a model for the Biblical characters in many of his works'. At Grace Church, a bald man resembling Lenin appears in the window, depicting the visit of Jesus to the Temple.
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Former Home of the Late Governor John N. Dalton (42)
Located at 411 Fourth Street, this is the home of John Nichols Dalton, former Governor of Virginia. John N. Dalton was born in 1931. He attended the Radford City public schools, graduated from the College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia School of Law.
He served as a member of the House of Delegates of Virginia, 1966-1973; the Senate of Virginia 1973-1974; Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, 1974-1978; and as Governor of Virginia from 1978-1982. He died in 1986.
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The Birch House (43)
Located at 614 4th Street, The Birch House is the residence of Dick and Kathleen Harshberger. It was built in 1888-89 by Oscar and Lizzie Loughon, a local lumber dealer. Until purchased and extensively renovated by the present owners, the property was sold 15 times. One of the more well-known owners was Dr. Birch, Chairman of the Radford College Biology Department. It is said that he kept many of his live specimens in an upstairs bathtub. The house contains a magnificent mahogany staircase and many stained-glass windows.
Radford Community Hospital (former) (44)
8th and Randolph.
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Harvey House (45)
Situated on Harvey Street, at the corner of Eighth Street, this house was built by the Radford Land and Improvement Company, and was completed in 1892. It was first occupied by the superintendent of the Lynchburg Foundry Company. When the land boom ended, the house fell into the hands of a caretaker, where it remained until 1900.
In 1906 the house was purchased by the late Lewis Harvey. All the woodwork on the first floor, with the exception of the dining room, is solid cherry, and the stairway, which has two landings, features hand carved panels. At the top of the stairway are four semi-circular panels, each representing a season.
Lewis Harvey operated a transportation business which rented horse drawn vehicles, buggies, and teams. The home has its own stables which are located in the rear.
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Wadsworth School (46)
Located on the southeast corner of Eighth and Randolph Streets, this building still stands as a private home. The school was West Radford's first, and was originally situated on the corner of Sixth and Wadsworth.
It was built by the Radford Land and Improvement Company. When the building was no longer in use as an institution of learning, it was moved to its present location, (at that time, the old Radford fairgrounds). For many years at the annual fair, the building was used as the exhibit hall. The school was built as a frame structure; the brick siding is a later addition.
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Ingleside (47)
The original grant of land was issued in 1748 and settled in 1758. The original home was located on The Long Way Home to the right of the stage, a log structure and was occupied by William and Mary Draper Ingles until their death in 1782 and 1815. The foundation is still at the site, the stones from the chimney were used for the Mary Draper Ingles monument.
Ingleside was built between 1789 and 1790 by their son Colonel John Ingles. The original structure is the section facing the river and reflects the construction of the period with hewn logs fastened with pegs and clapboard siding. The first addition, the present front, was added in 1849, the second, a one and a half story section in 1880, a second story added in 1900 and a sleeping porch added about 1920.
The property has remained in the Ingles family since 1748, with seven generations living on the farm and six in the home.
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Ingles Ferry (48)
Officially opened in 1762 when William Ingles was granted a charter, this ferry may have run privately for several years. At this site in 1760 was the first rendezvous of Colonel William Byrd's expedition against the Cherokees. In 1763, while returning from their last foray in the New River region these Indians were attacked by William Ingles and a party of settlers.
The ferry ran day and night to handle the heavy traffic of pioneers on the Wilderness Road. In 1842, Thomas Ingles built a covered bridge and a toll house beside the ferry. The covered bridge remained in use for many years until it was burned by Confederate soldiers on May 10, 1864 as they retreated after the battle of Cloyd's Mountain.
The ferry resumed operation until 1948. The ferry, the ferryman's house, and later the Ingles Tavern became the center of social life for the pioneers. Andrew Jackson is said to have stopped here on several occasions.
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Ingles Tavern (49)
Built in 1772 by William Ingles, the earliest portion of the tavern, located on the west bank of the New River at the terminus of the Ingles Ferry, served as a tavern and as Ingles' home. A two story addition containing a lobby, barroom, and sleeping quarters for travelers was added to the original one-and-a-half story log cabin.
Other facilities at the site included a blacksmith shop, stables, and store. A post office was located there from 1837 until 1849 and served as a polling place in Pulaski County
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Mary Draper Ingles Monument (50)
Located just inside the entrance to West View Cemetery on Fifth Street fifty yards from the corner of Pendelton Street--this monument honors one of Radford's most illustrious ancestors.
The inscription reads:
"Mary Draper Ingles, born in Philadelphia, 1732, died at Ingles Ferry, Va., 1815. The first white bride married west of the Allegheny Mountains. Captured by the Indians, 1755, at Draper's Meadow, now Blacksburg, Va., and carried to Ohio, escaping from her captors, she made her way home in winter, alone, [with Mrs. Bingham, ed] some eight hundred miles....this monument was erected of the stones of the chimney of the cabin in which she lived and died after her return from captivity.
This historic event is imortalized each year by the presentation of a play "The Long Way Home", depicting Mary Draper Ingles' kidnaping and is held at the Long Way Home Theater.
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La Riviere (51)
Located in West Radford on the New River, the home was built in 1892 by William Ingles, great-grandson of pioneers William and Mary Draper Ingles. The home contains beautifully carved woodwork, stained glass windows, and the famous mirror in which a female face mysteriously appeared after a lightning storm.
The old Ingles Ferry was located a mile above this Ingles home.
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Municipal Building (52)
Located on the corner of First and Wadsworth Streets, the former municipal building now houses the Radford Police Department and the City Jail. The building originally had a third floor and tower. These were removed after a fire in 1950.
Glencoe (53)
Located in the West End, behind the Inland Motors parking lot, this was the home of Dr. Radford's daughter, Nannie, and General G. C. Wharton. General Wharton was active in the building of railroads. He built this home in 1870.
After marrying Dr. Radford's daughter, Wharton had been given the land by the doctor for the construction of the couple's new home. The General had attended the University of Pennsylvania, and, while there, lived in a colonial home. When General Wharton built Glencoe, he copied that architectural style.
A detailed biography of General Wharton can be found here.
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These are the stops in the West Radford Tour. You may click these links to explore the East Radford Tour or the Tour of the Surrounding Area..
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