ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. – “Hidden History: A Black History Special,” explores once-undiscovered hidden elements of Southwest Virginia. One family featured in our program is the focus of a Black History Month event happening in Rockbridge County on Feb. 18, 2023.
The program is called “Bond of Family.” It will detail the legacy of Garland Thompson, Sr.
Thompson was an enslaved ironworker at Buffalo Forge, just outside of Glasgow.
His descendants say he worked to create a sense of family, despite being in bondage.
“It takes a village to raise a family and if you don’t know where you’ve been, you don’t know where you’re going and garland gave us that,” Brandall Branch, Thompson’s descendant said.
“Bond of Family” will take place at 1 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2023 at the James E. Thompson Senior Community Center in Glasgow.
The Local History Center of the Rockbridge Regional Library system partnered with the Rockbridge Historical Society and the Concerned Citizens of Glasgow for Saturday’s event.
You can watch an encore presentation of “Hidden History: A Black History Special” on Sunday night, Feb. 19, 2023, at 7 p.m. on TV.