The Brunswick Garden Club

March 22, 2022

1995 -2000

The Brunswick Garden Club began plans for hosting the Garden Club of Virginia’s 64th Annual Rose Show, to be held October 5-6, 2000.

Successful Historic Garden Week tours were presented in Lawrenceville and the Brodnax area, with the number of visitors at each beyond expectation.

Annual contributions were made to Prestwould Plantation near Clarksville and MacCallum More Museum & Gardens in Chase City. Proceeds from the annual Geranium Sale and the Christmas Auction were used for Historic Garden Week.

The club began a project at Oakwood Cemetery in Lawrenceville to include pruning shrubs, planting new flowers, repairing broken tombstones and adding direction signs at the cemetery. A list of all those buried at the cemetery along with their locations will be compiled and registered at the Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington, D. C.

2000 to 2010

The club hosted the 2000, Time Frames: 1900-2000 in South Hill) and 2001 (Global Harmony in Alberta) GCV Rose Shows, chaired by Joyce Moorman.

The club received the 2008 Common Wealth Award for “A Fort Called Christanna and its Indian Trading Center.” The funds enabled the club to develop a learning center at the site where students could learn about the history of Fort Christanna, an early 18th-century fort in Colonial Brunswick County.  The Learning Center was developed based on the diary of Charles Fontaine, a teacher at the site hired by Governor Spotswood.

Founded by Governor Spotswood in 1714, Fort Christanna was built to offer protection for white settlers and friendly native tribes and to act as a trading center. The site consists of 26 acres that encompass the site of the fort and runs to the scenic Meherrin River. The original outline of the fort has been cleared and marked and can be walked by visitors.

Inside the fort was a school for Indian children, taught by a Charles Griffin, where they learned to speak and write English, and to read the Bible and Book of Common Prayer.

Lieutenant John Fontaine, who spent some time there in 1715-1716, left a detailed account of his observations of life in the fort.

The monopoly of the Virginia Indian Company on trading soon aroused the ire of private merchants such as William Byrd II, who had inherited his father’s lucrative Indian trade. While back in London, he lobbied the Lords of Trade, arguing that Christanna was an unnecessary expense, and calling on them to return to independent trade and dissolve the Company. Despite Spotswood’s objections, they did so on November 12, 1717. In May 1718, a treaty was signed with the Iroquois of New York, whereby they agreed not to come east of the Blue Ridge, and the Burgesses thereupon voted to discontinue manning the fort. Mr. Griffin remained until September, then transferred to become master of the Indian school at the College of William & Mary.

Work at the Oakwood Cemetery continued throughout the decade and included removal of trees, new plantings and tombstone repairs. Historic Garden Week tours were held in Lawrenceville, Emporia, the Pea Hill Section of Lake Gaston and South Hill.

The club welcomed Robert (Bob) Henkel, the first male to become a member of the club and the Garden Club of Virginia.

2010 -2020

Work on the cemetery project continued.  Directional signs were put in place to better enable visitors to locate their plots.

Successful Historic Garden Week tours were held in Boydton, Clarksville and Blackstone.

COVID-19 brought in-person club activities to a halt in 2020, but members quickly learned to meet by Zoom.

The club completed their project at Oakwood Cemetery in Lawrenceville. Directional signs were installed, the circle was replanted, shrubbery was pruned, and broken stones were identified and reported to authorities.  A plat was made of all persons buried in the cemetery with their death dates.  This information is recorded in the Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington, D.C. for research.

Club members are currently making plans to host the GCV Board of Governors in the fall of 2025.

BGC Presidents 1996-2020

1996-1998	Edie Bell
1998-2000	Nancy Avery
2000-2002	Nancy Avery
2002-2004	Lauretta Richardson
2004-2006	Phyllis Brockwell
2006-2008	Kay Outten
2008-2010	Diane Wagner
2010-2012	Kay Outten
2012-2014	Bev Hudson
2014-2016	Jane Stringer
2016-2018	Nancy Avery
2018-2020	Mary Smith