Frank Padget monument, Rockbridge County, Virginia color snapshot photos and copy print photos, 1975

Containers:

Box 10, Folder 9

Scope and content:

The photos in this folder are color snapshot photos taken at the original site of the obelisk, alone and with mostly unidentified people standing by it. Dr. Allen Moger is the only who is identified in one of the photos. Two of the photos are of the canal lock. Also included are negatives and two black and white copy print photos of a couple of the photos.

Biographical / historical:

The Frank Padget Monument is a historic granite obelisk located in Centennial Park, at the intersection of Route 684, Blue Ridge Road and McCulloch Street in the town of Glasgow, Virginia, Rockbridge County. Erected in 1854, it is one of the earliest monuments in Virginia dedicated to honoring an African American slave. It stands as a testament to extraordinary courage, leadership, and self-sacrifice.

On January 21, 1854, heavy rains caused the James River to flood aggressively. A canal boat named the Clinton snapped its towrope and washed over the Mountain Dam, stranding its passengers in the treacherous rapids of Balcony Falls. Frank Padget, an enslaved man and highly skilled river boatman, stepped forward to lead a rescue team. Alongside five white volunteers, Padget navigated the raging waters and successfully saved dozens of stranded passengers. While making a final, perilous attempt to rescue the very last remaining passenger, Padget's craft crashed into a rock and shattered. Caught in the overwhelming current, Padget tragically drowned.

Deeply moved by Padget's ultimate sacrifice, an eyewitness to the tragedy, Captain Edward Echols, commissioned and paid for the monument in l854. The obelisk was initially erected next to Lock 16 of the Blue Ridge Canal along the James River. Over time, this location became remote, overgrown, and largely inaccessible to the public. In 1997, through community efforts, the monument was moved to its current location in Centennial Park near the Glasgow Town Hall, where it is preserved and accompanied by state historical markers.

Names:

African-Americans. Glasgow, Virginia

Access and use