Tracing Our Roots: A Tour of Laurel Branch Road

Sat., June 8, and Sat., June 15

LOCATION:

Topeco Church of the Brethren (use of church bus for tour)

3460 Floyd Highway S, Floyd, VA 24091

East ZONE
Learning Opportunity
Participatory Event

TIME:

1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Tickets Available At The Event

CONTACT:

Janet S. Keith
540-789-7552

The tour begins in the Topeco community and explores the scenic 7.38 miles of Laurel Branch Road and about five miles of Floyd Highway S as the bus tour returns to its starting point. Additional points of interest on side roads add to the written narrative provided by the tour's creator and guide, Janet Slusher Keith, who grew up on a Virginia Century Farm on Laurel Branch Road. Her ancestor, Christopher Slusher, Sr., was among Revolutionary War veterans claiming patents for land here in the early 1800s, joining settlers Elijah Hylton, Benjamin Weddle, and Jacob Goodykoontz. Topeco and Laurel Branch communities grew as early families built their homes, farms, churches, and schools. The anguish of the Civil War era remains in the cemeteries and the stories: from raids and epidemics, to sheltering deserters, to Union Gen. George Stoneman's army camping on Shelor and Bishop Meadows after emptying smokehouses, granaries, and barns along the Pike from the Hylton plantation to Jacksonville. Pre-registration is required. BACK TO ALL EVENTS