“The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.”
― Alan Bennett
This cache was placed by Psyprof and adopted by HistoryJoe23 in August 2021.
Background (Psyprof): This geocache celebrates the heritage of what to many is a mysterious people – the Melungeons. Indeed, the cache is located at the epicenter of Melungeon heritage and culture.
Vardy is a long, narrow valley nestled between Newman’s Ridge and Powell Mountain, just north of Sneedville, Tennessee, the county seat of Hancock County. The community was first settled around 1780, and is named after early settler Vardiman Collins.
Among the settlers of Vardy and Newman’s Ridge, many were Melungeon. Their ancestry remains a bit mysterious. Some attribute their distinctive appearance to Mediterranean, Portuguese, or Middle Eastern influences; others attribute it to Black and Native American heritage. Irrespective of their origins, the Melungeons, as “persons of color”, were subjected to both social and legal discrimination well into the 20th century.
There are records from the 1840’s in the courthouse in Sneedville of certain valley residents having been denied the right to vote, as they had been classified as “free persons of color.”
“Records show that fines were levied. Other records show that the proud Melungeons refused to attend a segregated Negro school, instead they built a ‘subscription’ school in their valley and hired their own teacher.
In 1897, …Christopher Humble visited Vardy and set a process in motion that has had far-reaching effects. Humble was a ‘reconnaissance man’ for the Presbyterian Church USA and was looking to begin a mission in the valley. He had heard of or met Batey Collins, whom he calls the ‘chief’ of the Melungeons. Soon after Humble's visit missionary women arrived to hold Sunday schools and to visit the families of the valley. By 1899 a church was built and in 1902 there was a new school building.
A mission was not unusual; there were many denominational efforts throughout the southern mountains that started churches, did health work, and built schools. However this one was unusual in several ways:
• two missionaries came early and stayed long, Mary Rankin (1910-1943) and Chester Leonard (1920-1952);
• these two were highly skilled, compatible (not always the case), and visionary
• the school they inspired community members to build was a model for both private and public education in the region for decades:
• Rankin and Leonard were undaunted by the epithet Melungeon and thus ministered to this marginalized group;
• their former pupils have formed The Vardy Community Historical Society that has made the church into an attractive and informative museum, moved and restored the Mahala Mullins cabin, and completed an impressive oral history project that culminated in a book” (Source: http://www.aca-dla.org/site-templates/Melungeons/Melungeons.html).
The land for the school and church was given by Batey Collins.
Mahala Collins Mullins, whose cabin was moved from Newman's Ridge to the Vardy community and then was restored, was famous in the region for the quality of her moonshine and for her size.
More excellent links to Vardy: Blueridge Country Appalachian History Blogspot Rootsweb
Today, the school is gone. The church has been restored and serves as a museum, and the Mahala Mullins cabin sits across the street, also part of the museum. This building has an architectural feature common of homes of the era – a dog trot – an open portal between the kitchen and living area.
Tools Needed: Pen
SWAG: There is room for SWAG in this container.
Maintenance: Please feel free to perform maintenance on the log if needed. If the container needs to be replaced, please submit a "Needs Maintenance" ticket or send me a message.
