Wytheville-Wythe-Bland 2018 | Chamber of Commerce COMMUNITY PROFILE & REFERRAL GUIDE Same Great Doctors... Same Great Care! Physician practices associated with Wythe County Community Hospital re ect the continuity of care that is offered throughout the hospital system. Our doctors and staff are committed to making our communities healthier. Wythe Physician Practices offers primary care and specialty care services. PRIMARY CARE FAMILY CARE AND WOMEN’S HEALTH - FT. CHISWELL • 276-637-6641 FAMILY CARE - WYTHEVILLE • 276-227-0460 SPECIALTY CARE GENERAL SURGERY • 276-228-7948 WYTHE PHYSICIAN PRACTICES • 276-223-1983 UROLOGY • 276-228-5069 Heating & Air “Specializing in Customer Satisfaction for over 70 years” Over the years Wythe Sheet Metal, Inc. has gained a solid reputation for quick response to our customers’ needs, procient service after the installation, and for standing behind our work 100% 70 along with the Years brands we represent. TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents 3 WELCOME 4 WYTHE COUNTY HISTORY 6 TOWN OF WYTHEVILLE 8 TOWN OF RURAL RETREAT 10 BLAND COUNTY HISTORY 14 WYTHE COUNTY 16 TRANSPORTATION 18 TAX RATES & DEMOGRAPHICS 20 EDUCATION 22 AGRICULTURE 24 TOURISM & RECREATION 26 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Welcome 28 RESOURCES FOR DAILY LIVING 32 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 34 MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY 38 BUYERS GUIDE Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce 150 E. Monroe St., Wytheville, VA 24382 Ph: 276.223.3365 | Fax: 276.223.3412 www.wwbchamber.com This is a MetroMedia Publishers, Inc. publication. Copyright © 2017 Metromedia, Inc. 4210 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 314A Fairway, KS 66205 913.951.8440 | www.metromediapublishers.com Editor: Barbara Bayer Sales Executive: Kathy Anthony Media Coordinator: Megan Seymour 2 Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce • 150 E. Monroe Street • Wytheville, VA • www.wwbchamber.com [email protected] • 276.223.3365 • 2018 Community Profile & Referral Guide WELCOME WELCOME WYTHE COUNTY HISTORY TOWN OF WYTHEVILLE TOWN OF RURAL RETREAT BLAND COUNTY HISTORY WYTHE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION TAX RATES & DEMOGRAPHICS EDUCATION AGRICULTURE TOURISM & RECREATION BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Welcomen behalf of the Board of Directors of business and will continue to be your resource for information and RESOURCES FOR DAILY LIVING the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber assistance. As best you can, support other members with your of Commerce, welcome to our area. business. You can find a list of members in this Community Profile CHAMBER OF COMMERCE As the oldest business organization with & Referral Guide. Remember that local purchases help to sustain aO historical, community-based legacy and our growth and developments. MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY a bright future, and with our member Our office staff is available to anyone who seeks information businesses leading the way, we are proud to regarding the communities in Bland and Wythe Counties. As a BUYERS GUIDE promote our businesses and community to business partner, we encourage all residents and members to bring the members, residents and visitors to our forward new ideas on how we can best assist each other to improve area. our community and your Chamber of Commerce. As an active Chamber for over 72 years, As the Chamber of Commerce Executive Director for 27 years, we are grateful for each member and I want to encourage you to become active in the community and look to advance their growth and prosperity, as well as provide your Chamber of Commerce. If you are not already a member of increased opportunities and value for our membership. To help the Chamber, we invite you to join us. If you are already a member, our member businesses, the Chamber provides a variety of please take full advantage of your membership investment and get networking, advertising, educational and social events over the involved. We will always pursue excellence in all that we do at the course of the calendar year. We also support collaborative efforts Chamber for our businesses and communities. with other local chambers, governments, businesses, associations This area represents a first-rate place to do business and an and community organizations that provide additional opportunities excellent community in which to live. With a small-town charm, it for our members to initiate and build business relationships and is easy to find rural friendliness and generous, compassionate and strengthen our communities. welcoming folks around every corner. If you are visiting, enjoy your The Chamber is a vital part of the ongoing growth that is taking stay. If you are looking for a place to settle, please consider making place, and your membership in the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland this your home. Chamber of Commerce provides unparalleled opportunities to The Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce is your connect with peers, current and prospective clients, and partners business partner, achieving more together. Please do not hesitate up and down the supply chain. We strive to bring community to stop at the Chamber office at 150 E. Monroe St. in Downtown partners together for the betterment of all. Simply stated, we help Wytheville, send us an email at [email protected] or give people in all areas make connections with one another. us a call at 276.223.3365. We are only a step, click or call away, and Visit our website (wwbchamber.com) for opportunities in which ready to help you! you can participate in programs and events and obtain other information that helps make a positive difference in our community. Jennifer W. Atwell, IOM Should you not have time to attend meetings or events, that is Executive Director okay; know that the Chamber is here working for you and your Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce • 150 E. Monroe Street • Wytheville, VA • www.wwbchamber.com [email protected] • 276.223.3365 • 2018 Community Profile & Referral Guide 3 HISTORY OF WYTHE & BLAND COUNTIES Local citizens in Wythe County, with help from donors in Texas, erected a marble monument on the banks of the New River in Austinville, Virginia, recognizing the Father of Texas’ birthplace. History ythe County was formed in 1790. It was named of Interstates 77 and 88 was constructed in the 1970s. A pyramid after George Wythe, the first Virginian signer of the marker now stands in the approximate location of the former fort. Declaration of Independence. During the Civil War, there The community was named for Colonel John Chiswell, who helped Wwere four major skirmishes in Wythe County. Many homes and establish the lead mines in 1757, prior to the Austins’ purchase. businesses were destroyed in these battles. Prior to Wythe County’s creation, what is now the Wythe County ytheville is a town in and the county seat of Wythe County, community of Austinville served as the county seat for Fincastle Virginia. Wytheville’s history includes: The “first female County, an extinct Virginia county whose borders stretched from W American President,” Edith Bolling Wilson; and Virginia Roanoke, Virginia, to the Mississippi River – a county roughly Governor E. Lee Trinkle and Colonel Robert Enoch Withers. the size of half of Texas. Blessed with natural mineral spas and Confederate Generals James Walker and William Terry practiced a moderate mountain climate, the county became a summer law in Wytheville and are buried in the historic East End Cemetery. resort for families seeking to escape the heat and disease of the summers in the deep South. MUSEUMS LOCATED IN WYTHEVILLE Wythe County’s Austinville community was founded by Stephen THE HALLER-GIBBONEY ROCK HOUSE MUSEUM Austin and his brother, Moses Austin, father of the famous Stephen F. Austin, the “Father of Texas.” In the 1790s, the Austins took The home of Wytheville’s first resident physician, the Haller-Gibboney Rock over the mines that produced lead and zinc; the town was named House has played a significant role in Wytheville’s history since its construction in for the Austin surname but not for any Austin who bore that 1823. Dr. John Haller served his community as a county doctor, county coroner surname. Lead was mined and shipped throughout the fledgling and delegate to the Virginia Legislature. During the 140 years that the Hallers country; lead shot was also produced. Located near Foster Falls, and their descendants, the Gibboneys and Campbells, lived in the home, they Jackson Ferry Shot Tower still stands as a testament to the citizens responded to the needs of their community by using their home as an infirmary of Wythe County. Lead was hoisted to the top of the tower using and school during the Civil War and as a boarding house when Wytheville block and tackle and oxen. The lead was melted in a retort and became a popular summer resort. The purpose of the Haller-Gibboney Rock then poured through a sieve at the top of the tower. The droplets House Museum is to preserve its collections, structure and grounds in a manner of molten lead would become round during the 150-foot descent. that promotes understanding and appreciation of family life in Wytheville within The shot would collect in a kettle of water, and slave laborers would enter through a 110-foot access tunnel located near the the context of the events of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Please allow at bank of the New River to retrieve the shot from the kettle. least 30 minutes for a guided tour. Another notable area within the county is the unincorporated 205 Tazewell St., Wytheville, VA 24382 / 276.223.3330 community of Fort Chiswell — named for a French and Indian www.wytheville.org/museums/ War-era fort. The fort and its surrounding buildings served as the county seat until the incorporated town of Wytheville was THE THOMAS J. BOYD MUSEUM established approximately ten miles to the west. The fort fell into The Thomas J. Boyd Museum opened in December 1983 and is named for disrepair, and its ruins were covered over when the intersection Thomas Jefferson Boyd, who is known as the “Father of Wytheville.” He was an 4 Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce • 150 E.