Highland
Historical Society
Highland County, VA
Est. 1847
Settled ca. 1745
P.O. Box 63
McDowell, VA 24458
Phone:
540-396-HIST(4478)
Email the Society.
Click for:
VISIT OUR NEW
MUSEUM SHOP
Click HERE
Click for:
The Highland County Museum & Heritage Center
(The Mansion House )
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“Tol’Able David” to be shown May 17
McDOWELL – The silent film, “Tol’Able David,” will be presented May 17 at 7 p.m. at The Highland Center. Following the film, a discussion will be held with Dr. Walter Coppedge, film historian. The event is being held to benefit the operation of The Highland County Museum and Heritage Center.
In the summer of 1921, a New York film company arrived in Highland County ready to work. The cast and crew included Richard Barthlemess, who would be soon launched into stardom; screen veteran Gladys Hulette; Scottish theater actor, Ernest Torrence; Hollywood director, Virginia-born Henry King and the writer of the original short story, Joseph Hergesheimer.
The story of “Tol’Able David,” was born when Hergesheimer visited Highland County. He wrote the story here. As a writer, Hergesheimer was of the aesthetic school. His prose was romantic, filled with flowery language and beautiful scenery. As such, he was a popular writer in the Gilded Age of the 1920s. “Tol’Able David,” was first published in the Saturday Evening Post July 14, 1917.
Some time later, Henry King (originally from Christiansburg, Va.) was given the opportunity to direct the film version. For the exterior scenes, he chose Highland County – the Blue Grass Valley, to be specific.
What was then known as Crabbottom was set to film as the fictitious, “Greenstream.” Today, we all know the area as Blue Grass and anyone watching the film will immediately recognize the scenery and many of the buildings.
Production in Crabbottom wrapped up in six weeks and the film company left town heading back to the hot streets of New York in summer.
The film was popular from its opening. Reviews of the day commented heavily on the beauty of the landscape and its rural nature. Today, silent film enthusiasts consider “Tol’Able David,” one of the silent film-era’s classic works.
Coppedge’s article on “Tol’Able David,” in the film jacket reads “The film opened to reviews in New York and throughout the country with an enthusiasm which bordered on delirium.”
From his portrayal of “David,” Barthlemess became the next best thing to Rudolph Valentino. Hulette had already filmed nearly 100 movies by the time she appeared in “Tol’Able David.” Her career would end in 1934. From his performance in “Tol’Able David,” Torrence became one of the best bad guys in the business. One biographer called Torrence, “the man you loved to hiss.”
Director Henry King went on to direct more than 100 films and boasted a career that spanned from 1910s-1960s. Hergesheimer’s career was at an all-time high during the filming of “Tol’Able David.” He reigned as a major American writer during the 1920s, but his knack for aestethic writing was unpopular in the harsh atmosphere of The Great Depression.
Copies of the “Tol’Able David” DVD will be for sale along with copies of Dr. Coppedge’s book, “Henry King’s America.” Popcorn and soda will be served.
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The Highland Historical Society was originally formed in the 1980s for the purpose of creating and publishing a revised history of the county, The New History of Highland County, which is available from the Higland/Bath newspaper, The Recorder. You can contact The Recorder HERE.
Today the Highland Historical Society is involved in an extensive array of projects dedicated to the preservation of Highland’s precious past. In May of 2005, the Society completed a partial restoration and renovation of the Mansion House and hosted the Grand Opening of the Highland Museum and Heritage Center in McDowell, Virginia. Click on the image above for the schedule of Museum hours and list of current displays. The Society also plays a primary role in organizing the biennial McDowell Battlefield Heritage Days, the nation’s premier Civil War re-enacting event, held every other May.
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The Highland Historical Society is also involved in the following projects:
- surveying and cataloguing all of Highland County’s historic sites and structures
- microfilming all of Highland County’s newspapers dating back to the 1800's
- collecting Highland genealogical records and local histories
- erecting signs to identify the smaller towns in Highland County
- supporting and working with other organizations to provide trails, markers, and parking at the site of the McDowell Battlefield
- working to save and preserve the McDowell Battlefield in cooperation with the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation
- financing the restoration of old and rare Highland County documents.
Anyone who is interested in preserving the history and heritage of Highland County, Virginia, and of the Virginia Highlands is invited to join The Highland Historical Society by filling out and sending in our membership form.
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