While projects surrounding local Kentland Farm, a former plantation, have been in motion for quite some time, Jessica Taylor’s fall 2023 First Year Experience class is hoping their efforts can create a lasting impact on preservation and build awareness of Southwest Virginia's nineteenth-century history. When it came time to assign a project for her students last fall, Taylor collaborated with professor Sam Cook, Solitude-Fraction Site director Victoria Ferguson, and many other community partners, including representatives from the Wake Forest Museum and Christiansburg Institute, Inc., to update public interpretation about Kentland and argue for its preservation. 

Kentland was the largest plantation in Montgomery County around the time of the Civil War, and the main brick house, formerly occupied by James and Elizabeth Kent, was built by enslaved people. The property, now owned by Virginia Tech, also houses an original smokehouse, which regional archaeologist Tom Klatka believes features West African architecture. After the war ended and emancipation had been declared, according to Virginia Tech historian Daniel Thorp, Elizabeth Kent may have sold the property to formerly enslaved people, who established the nearby community of Wake Forest. 

Today, Wake Forest can be found off of Prices Fork Road in Blacksburg. Many of today’s Wake Forest residents are descendants of those who were enslaved at Kentland. However, while a historic site, the Kentland property has not been well maintained and much of it is in grave disrepair. “Allowing this place to go unnoticed only serves to continue the oppression that those in this community have faced,” explains Taylor. 

Student Research and Teamwork

The students split into teams to design digital and wayside exhibits surrounding Kentland, its history, and why it should be preserved. The digital exhibit team built a website containing the hidden histories and individual stories of those who were enslaved at Kentland and lived in the community of Wake Forest. The students who worked on the wayside exhibit focused on the people and land of Kentland, from Eastern Siouan Indigenous history to twenty-first century archaeology and preservation in Wake Forest. No interpretive sign currently exists at Kentland, but the students hope their presentation and exhibits might change that. 

In addition to learning about the history of Kentland and Wake Forest, students also learned about the dynamics of working as part of a team, dividing tasks by skill set, and about the value of working directly with community partners and the communities affected by the story they’re telling. As first-year students, this was the first experience for many of them with learning how to work together in teams for a common goal. Taylor explained, “Learning to work in teams can be difficult and they had their ups and downs, but these students are proud of what they’ve done. I tried to encourage them to find their own place in the group with the talents they felt like they had to contribute and to make an individual connection to the project.”

While the first year experience course is not one she typically teaches, Taylor, an assistant professor in Virginia Tech’s Department of History, said, “I like working with people who are passionate. They’re all history and history education majors, so they want to be there and connect with others.” Both of these things rang true as the students became engrossed in the project and had the opportunity to connect with numerous community partners. 

Community Partnerships

One such partner was the Christiansburg Institute, Inc. and Jenny Nehrt. Nehrt, an alum of the history department’s master’s program, who works as a curator at the Institute. She read the students’ proposal drafts and supported them throughout the process. Another valuable partner who worked with students on the project was Sam Cook, an associate professor in the Department of History and director of American Indian Studies at Virginia Tech. Cook has been passionate about and advocating for the Kentland project for years, so students were able to tap into some of his community-centered research alongside Wake Forest community members like Howard and Jean Eaves. He gave them an impactful tour of Kentland and its cemeteries, one of which was for those who had been formerly enslaved. 

Students frequently referenced other research to inform their own, including the work of regional archaeologist Tom Klatka and history professor Dan Thorp. Thorp’s books Facing Freedom and In the True Blue’s Wake provided students with helpful information, which then led them to Virginia Tech’s Special Collections and University Archives for even more material. Students were also able to visit the Wake Forest Museum with Howard Eaves, president of the Wake Forest Community Action Club, to further inform their research and perspective. One student said, “It made me realize we are just tourists here, and there are lots of histories that are just being shuffled into the archives and being ignored or otherwise marginalized.” 

Another noteworthy partner was Victoria Ferguson, the Director of Solitude-Fraction Site at Virginia Tech. Ferguson helped provide feedback on drafts and assisted Taylor with figuring out what the class would look like before the semester even started. Taylor emphasizes, “The whole community worked on this project. People from lots of different but historically grounded disciplines came together to make this happen.”

Student Presentation and Takeaways

Students first presented their work to a crowd of history department faculty over pizza. A small group of students volunteered to present off campus to community partners at the Christiansburg Institute, Inc., as well as university administrators, on December 11, 2023. 

During their presentation, titled “Kentland Farm: An Overlooked Historic Landmark of Southwest Virginia,” they delved into answers to the questions they had spent all semester researching, including the importance and history of Kentland and Wake Forest, how we can help reclaim this lost history, and how to make it interesting for the general public. The students emphasized the importance of preserving both Kentland and Wake Forest, the need for more in-depth research, and, ideally, more funding for preservation. 

They proposed that a more permanent exhibit be established at Virginia Tech so more people can learn about Kentland’s significant history. “These first-year students only had a semester to complete this research on the history of a highly complicated historical site, and they did an amazing job,” said Jennifer Hart, professor and chair of the history department. Hart adds, “They’re becoming historians! This was not the way they had experienced history before – it’s more than facts and dates; it’s so dynamic and powerful. I’m grateful to Jessica for laying such a strong foundation for these students and to our community partners for sharing their time, knowledge, and expertise and being a part of the journey with them.” 

What’s next for Kentland? We’ll have to wait and see if everything the students proposed comes to fruition. A small group of community members are currently finalizing two interpretive signs for placement at the Wake Forest Museum based on the students’ original text and designs. But one thing is for certain: the impact this project had on these students. Between learning how to work with one another, collaborating with community partners, conducting research, creating exhibits, and more, it became clear to these first-year students how crucial local history is, as well as the importance of raising awareness around it in order to combat ignorance and historical erasure. One student said it best: “History is everywhere. You just need to know where to look for it.”

Written by Cammie Sgarrella