Southwest Virginia is big and bold and bodacious. Until the taming influence of Interstate 81, that ribbon of asphalt which makes straight the rough passages, Southwest Virginia was protected from the outside world by its own rough terrain. Even so, in the late 1700s the first settlers were planting, here and there, a Baptist witness. A century before the interstate highway, the iron horse had provided some accessibility for commerce and visitors from the East.
Fred Anderson
Even when it was isolated, Southwest Virginia had an appeal to the Baptists east of the Blue Ridge. They looked unto the hills and saw opportunity. They appointed state missionaries to establish preaching stations. They started Sunday schools and many of those developed into churches. They sent Bible distributors to place God's Word into the hands of people who possessed no books. The greatest single undertaking was the mission work of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. In the mid-to-late 19th century, under the leadership of the visionary Henry Keeling Ellyson, it planted a church wherever the railroad built a depot.
In the 1880s William E. Hatcher, a prominent Richmond pastor, organized repeated visits by “wise men from the East” in what they called their “Caravans.” These were summertime ventures for several of the leading Baptist preachers of the times. They took the train from Richmond westward and usually got off in Marion or perhaps Glade Spring and journeyed by horse and buggy or carriage over to the hills of Russell. Along the way, they preached and made friendships with the local folk.
The General Association was so serious about developing a Baptist witness in the region that it appointed scores of state missionaries. These usually were local preachers who already were established in an area. They received a modest income from the state organization.
One of those missionaries was the irascible Noah C. Baldwin, who planted churches in Smyth, Wythe and Washington counties. In his latter years, he lived at a farmstead near a spot in the road called Lodi, outside Glade Spring. He named his farm Whang Doodle Hollow. He was the founder of the Lebanon Baptist Association.
Eventually, Baldwin had a falling out with the state association. Truth be told, eventually Baldwin had a parting of the ways with nearly every church or group. But he usually came back into the fold. He fell out with the state association because he came to the conclusion that Ellyson, as the executive leader of the General Association, was misreading the region. Baldwin contended that Southwest Virginia was no longer a mission field. He argued that it had plenty of solid and successful churches, thank you very much, and no longer needed to be the recipient of missions dollars.
The territory of the Southwest is so large that some disagree as to its borders. In many ways, it is more a state of mind than geography. In the 19th century, the General Association considered it to begin in Roanoke and extend southeastward over to Franklin and Henry counties and down to Patrick and Floyd. From Roanoke and Craig it continued down to Bristol and over to the far western tip of Lee. In all, it encompassed some 22 counties, not including several others which, in the Late Unpleasantness, became part of the new state of West Virginia.
Over time, several Virginia Baptist institutions were established in the region. Charles Cocke, the grand old Baptist man of the Southwest, established a school for females, Hollins Institute, near Roanoke, which although not officially affiliated with the General Association, certainly was promoted by and for Baptists. At the far end of the region, a school for females at Glade Spring was located on a hill of Bristol and became known as Virginia Intermont College. In the 20th century, Baptists rallied to establish a coed school for the Southwest and the citizens of Bluefield lobbied to be the site. Ironically, today the only two senior colleges still affiliated with the BGAV — Intermont and Bluefield — are the colleges located in the Southwest. Another school, Oak Hill Academy in Grayson County, operated as one of the mountain mission schools. In recent years, it has gained a wider base for students. The other institution in the region is HopeTree Family Services, formerly “the Virginia Baptist Orphanage” and, later, “the Children's Home.” It remains a premier agency for family services.
The Baptist story in Southwest Virginia is a fascinating epic of noble undertakings. It is filled with the biographies of self-less men and women who gave so that others might have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
The story is now told in a new book, entitled Unto the Hills, to be released by the Virginia Baptist Historical Society at the annual meeting of the General Association in Roanoke, Nov. 11-12. Unto the Hills includes a narrative history from the 1700s to 1890, the year of the death of Henry Keeling Ellyson. A biographical article is included on the fascinating life of Noah Baldwin, “The Man from Whang Doodle Hollow.” Much of the preacher's story is told in his own words gleaned from his private diary. Also included is an inventory of all known Baptist churches of all persuasions which existed in the region in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Copies of Unto the Hills will be mailed to all annual members of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society. Others may secure a copy at the BGAV annual meeting or can order for $12, including shipping and handling, from the VBHS, P.O. Box 34, University of Richmond, VA 23173.
Fred Anderson is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies. He may be contacted at fred.anderson@ vbmb.org or at P.O. Box 34, University of Richmond, VA 23173.