The Hanover Arts and Activities Center is located in Ashland, Virginia the home of Randolph Macon College, many major businesses throughout the State, and a short 20 minute drive north of historical Richmond, Virginia, the former confederate capitol of the south.  Ashland came about because the President of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad, (RF&P), thought the area was a perfect location to build a summer home away from the pressures and strain of the big city and managing a railroad.  By 1857 Ashland was incorporated as an independent town and in 1859 a congregation of like minded community members formed the First Baptist Church of Ashland, and built themselves a small one room church.  For 104 years, the building served the community as a church with the exception during the Civil War when it was used as a temporary hospital.  Then in 1969, it was converted into a public non-profit community arts, education, and activities center continuing to serve the same community even into the next century.

 

On the day the building was dedicated, there were so many people who showed up to celebrate the new beginning the small church was not able to accommodate everyone.  To remedy the problem, the pastor opened the window and conducted his first service by leaning out the window.  For the next several years the congregation of Ashland’s First Baptist Church met for worship, fellowship, and friendship.  Life was great and everyone loved their new little church.  The RF&P even donated a bell for the church to use in its steeple.  But soon this small community would be changed by a war that would involve brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, children, friends, neighbors, and relatives.  And a whole Nation would soon be turned up side down by a civil war.  In 1862, war was declared and the little country town of Ashland would never be the same.  Young men from the town were drafted, trained as cavalry soldiers, and shipped out to fight in battles that sometime were just over the nearest hill.  As soldiers were injured in battle, Field Commanders would place them on trains and send them south to be cared for in towns located along the railroad tracks.  Ashland received many of the seriously wounded, since they were so close to the battlefields.  And soon more space was needed to accommodate the numerous injured and maimed.  To help the community the First Baptist Church of Ashland offered their building as a temporary wartime hospital.  This arrangement lasted for the duration of the war.  Records reveal that eleven soldiers lost their life while being cared for in the church; yet thousands received medical treatment.  For only eleven to die one can only assume it was because the building was a special place.

 

Church services did not stop however, the congregation simply held their services in members’ homes.  After each service, many of the congregation would return to their church and volunteer their time to help comfort the wounded.  Once the war was over, the congregation returned to their church and began making repairs.  The most serious problem they identified was the bloodstains located all over their wooden floor.  Doctors had operated anywhere they were needed with little consideration of how it might damage the floors.  The congregation could not afford replacing the floor so they decided to install wall to wall carpeting, thereby covering up the stains.  Over the next fifty to sixty years many new members attended church not realizing why their church was carpeted.  Records have not been located to let us know when they built a second floor over the original floor, but it’s thought to have occurred sometime around the middle 1900’s.  The second floor still covers the original floor and the bloodstains from the civil war.  When you walk on the floor today you are walking over history.

 

From the late 1800's through the early 1900's little occurred that affected the congregation.  In 1880, an addition was built on the rear of the church to include wings on the north and south side.  One side was used for Sunday school, the other for the Pastor’s study, and the middle was used for the altar and choir.  Sometime between 1899, and 1907, a columned porch was built across the entire front.  In 1911, electricity was installed costing the congregation an enormous sum of $60.  In 1912, what we call the stage area was remodeled to add more Sunday school classrooms and converted into a small auditorium.  In 1955, a new two-story Sunday school wing was built to the rear of the church with six classrooms on each floor.  At the same time, a basement was dug out of the ground creating a fellowship hall.  At this point the church leadership realized that any more expansion would have to involve a physical move.  Over the 104 years, several pastors came and went, the size of the congregation grew, decreased, and grew again, just like any other church.  There is a legend about the church which involves the loss of the steeple and bell that cannot be substantiated by records.  But the fact remains they are no longer part of the building.  It’s said that around the early part of the 1900’s, the congregation had to sell their steeple and bell in order to pay the salary of their Pastor.  Records are not clear as to what happened, but apparently the Pastor had gone quite a few years without being paid any money.  The congregation had feed and clothed the pastor and his family for several years, but he finally insisted that some money was required.  Selling the steeple and bell satisfied their financial responsibility but it also changed the appearance of the small church forever.

 

But, by the late 1960’s, the congregation had finally outgrown their little building and plans were made to move.  A new location was selected, a church built, and by the beginning of 1967 the congregation moved.  Even to this day the First Baptist Church of Ashland can be found west of the town, which is a nice testament to their austere beginning in a small one room church, built along side the railroad tracks.

 

The move to a new location raised a big question.  What to do with the first church?  No one wanted to see it deteriorate from non-use and become an eyesore to the community.  Some parishioners recommended selling the building and others simply wanted to destroy it.  Little did they know that a local women’s club was discussing the need for a community civic center and they thought the little building by the railroad tracks was a perfect fit.  They wanted a place that could offer the community live theatre show’s, a place to exhibit the works of local artist's, a teen center, a meeting place for senior citizens, and classrooms for lessons and workshops offered to adults and children.  The women’s club approached the church directors and after some discussion began holding fund raising events that were successful and raised enough money to pay an initial down payment.  Around June 1967, the dream of a community center began to develop.  In a little over a year, by December 1968, The Ashland Junior Women's Club had raised the $28,000 needed to make the final payment for the building and land.  During that short year an all-volunteer Board of Directors had been formed, By-Laws had been written, and recognition by the government had been received designating the new organization as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization.  Their dream of a community center had been realized.  The Board of Directors had decided not to limit the uses of the center to just the town of Ashland, so they choose a name that would allow the future members the greatest possible scope.  They selected a name that would show the organization was open to town and county citizens.  This resulted in our current name, Hanover Arts and Activities Center.  The founders directed that the Center would provide opportunities for civic groups, community organizations, and individuals for their cultural enrichment, educational development, and personal growth.  They also wanted to ensure that all maintenance would be mindful of the buildings historical place in the community, and any renovations would retain the historical significance of the original structure.  The building’s new mission was reshaped, restructured, and given new guidance.  For the last 35 years this organization has truly been an active and devoted organization to its community improving educational opportunities, artistic development, and community growth, just as our founders dreamed it would.

 

Life for the Center has been a tremendous and rewarding challenge for the all-volunteer Board of Directors.  There have been live puppet shows, children’s programs, live theater, organized museum programs, local artist cabarets, summer camps, scouting functions, and many more activities to numerous to list.  Each activity was taken on by the Center to benefit the people in the community.  The Center became the county’s first branch library.  For 10 years the Center was THE place to come and enjoy reading a book or completing a research project.  It also became a Women’s Resource Center offering a safe place for women to come for help, assistance, and security.  The Library and Resource Center have since moved on to larger and more modern facilities but the Center still remains as a resource for the community.  Today, The Hanover Arts and Activities Center supports many organizations and in some cases offer use of the building for free.  A local county chapter of The American Association for Retired Persons, (AARP) meets twice a month, free of charge, as does two 4H Clubs.  We support our local Hanover County government by opening our building, free of charge, to the County’s Concert Band, and offer free storage space for their instruments.  The band can be seen and enjoyed at many of our county festivities throughout the year.  At one time, the County sponsored a square dancing club and we offered them free use of our building so the people in our community could enjoy a true American art.  We’re sorry to say the club disbanded after a year. 

 

We offer neighbors a chance to meet together, to develop a skill in an art or craft that they enjoy.  We offer our classrooms to teachers that conduct music and art lessons.  We keep the rent to a very low minimum so the cost of a class is affordable to parents who are seeking to advance their children’s musical and/or artistic abilities.  The musical instruments include the violin, bass, cello, and viola, the acoustic and bass guitar, and the ever-popular piano.  We rent a classroom to a stained glass instructor, and another room that is used by a graphic artist.  Our basement is home to a non-profit preschool cooperative with a large outdoor playground.  The preschool is founded on the principle that preschool children can learn more than just coloring, taking naps, and how to play games.  Parents are required to participate in their child's preschool development and volunteer a specified amount of hours to help the teacher during the semester.  To help pay the bills, we rent our ballroom and kitchen to young couples looking for a beautiful site to hold their wedding and wedding reception.  Our historical building adds to the beauty of a wedding and reception offered to our next generation of married couples.  Finally, area businesses use the building for parties, seminars, and company meetings.  The Hanover County Black Heritage Association has held two Jazz Festivals, and we have had many family reunions and 50th wedding anniversaries.  We are an organization that offers our building for a variety of functions for people in our community to educate or enjoy themselves.

 

But that’s not all.  We also sponsor community events that not only help us to raise funds but also offer a community service.  In 1978 several people in our community talked about holding its own 10K run similar to those sponsored in larger cities.  So we responded.  Twenty-five years later we are still holding the Ashland 10K Railroad Run and 5K Walk.  This event has grown from several dozen to several hundred runners and walkers.  In 1989 many in our community wanted to celebrate its new found patriotism resulting from the success of the Gulf War.  So we responded by sponsoring a parade and concert and held it on our Nations birthday.  For the last 14 years, we have held a Fourth of July non-motorized parade and concert, along with good old fashion apple pie baking contest.  In 2002 we added a water dunk tank and our gracious mayor has sat on the hot seat or wet seat - however you want to look at it - for the last two years.  We started a second event in 1989 when the Center needed to raise money to renovate the building.  The Board developed a Christmas in Ashland Tour of Homes, where we would offer the public a chance to tour the inside six or more homes built around the late 1800's or early 1900’s.  We decorate the owner’s home with beautiful natural decorations and flowers and charge a small fee for anyone who would like to tour the home.  The tours have been so popular that 19 years later, we are still holding them.  We also sponsor a gingerbread contest to identify the most creative gingerbread house artists in the community.  The winners have their creations displayed at the Ashland library and/or local restaurants for the month of December.  Finally, also, only on odd numbered years, we produce and direct a Musical Variety Show involving over 350 citizens from Ashland and Hanover County.  The participants volunteer their time and talents for the show so we can raise money to help us continue to operate.  Variety shows and live theater presentations have been a part of the center from the very beginning but officially became a biannual event in 1977.  Over the years the show has grown and the audiences are sold out for the three days it’s held; truly a community and organization actively involved with each other.  We have continually sought to change with the times and try to keep ourselves abreast of the needs of the community.  We feel we have accomplished that goal and as we enter the 21^st century we even realized the importance of the computer, so we designed and began our own web site to introduce our availability and our commitment to the public.  Using the computer age to inform our community of the educational classes we sponsor and the activities we hold every year has reaped great rewards.  We now see our Center used almost every day of the month.  Some are free and some pay, but what’s most important is we are a community center actively involved with its community. 

 

You are invited to visit us and our Director will be happy to give you a tour of the building.  You can reach us at 804-798-2728 or by email at info@hanoverarts.org.